Calls for a national referendum on renationalising England’s privatised water and sewerage companies have intensified after 20,000 people signed a petition launched by a campaigner from Channel 4’s “Dirty Business” series. The move targets companies responsible for combined sewer overflows, long-term leakage issues and high storm discharge volumes into rivers and coastal waters. Any shift to public ownership would directly affect funding models for major wastewater upgrades, long-life pipeline renewals and resilience works on ageing treatment works and trunk mains.

EU and US negotiators are close to a critical minerals pact that would use tools such as minimum pricing mechanisms, subsidies and purchase guarantees to support non‑Chinese suppliers of lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, copper and rare earths. A leaked draft action plan calls for joint standards, coordinated investment and shared responses to supply disruptions, following Beijing’s 2025 export controls that hit rare earths and forced some European manufacturers to halt production. The framework is intended to mesh with existing US agreements with Mexico and Japan, signalling a move towards a wider multi-country minerals accord.

Engineers have launched the Association for Consultancy and Engineering’s Delivering Infrastructure 2050 manifesto, calling for long-term reform of Welsh transport, energy and water networks ahead of the 7 May Senedd elections. The document presses for a stable 25-year infrastructure pipeline, faster planning and consenting for major schemes, and clearer funding models for projects such as strategic road upgrades and grid reinforcement. For geotechnical and civil practitioners, the proposals signal potential continuity of workload but also tighter scrutiny on whole-life carbon, asset resilience and value-based procurement.