UK government procurement guidance now designates steel, shipbuilding, artificial intelligence and energy infrastructure as “national security critical” sectors, allowing contracting authorities to prioritise UK-based suppliers in tenders. The rules, issued under the Procurement Act 2023, also encourage in-house public-sector delivery and require buyers to factor local economic, skills and supply-chain benefits into award criteria. Civil and energy projects using large steel packages, grid assets or AI-based control systems should expect tighter origin scrutiny and potentially revised prequalification and value-for-money assessments.

Emergency planning measures from housing secretary Steve Reed and the mayor of London will introduce a fast-track route for schemes with at least 20% affordable housing and temporary CIL relief, aiming to restart dozens of stalled sites after social and affordable housing starts collapsed from 26,386 in 2022/23 to 4,522 in 2024/25. The package includes extra CIL relief for projects exceeding affordable targets and extended timeframes to keep schemes viable. The British Property Federation warns the support remains too limited to restore investor confidence or secure large-scale delivery without deeper, permanent flexibility in the London Plan.

The UK government has committed £1bn to accelerate electric commercial fleets through Zero Emissions Truck and Van grants and an expanded Depot Charging Scheme (DCS). Truck operators can receive up to £81,000 per heavy zero-emission HGV (covering 40% of vehicle cost) and van buyers up to £5,000 per unit, while depot charging projects for vans, coaches and eHGVs can claim up to 70% of installation costs, capped at £1m per site from a £170m DCS pot. For fleet engineers and depot designers, the package materially improves whole-life cost cases and supports large-scale yard power upgrades.