The Green Heat Network Fund will accept Welsh applications from Round 12, backed by an extra £195m per year in UK capital funding to 2030 under the Warm Homes Plan, with both public and private heat network owners eligible. Existing schemes such as Cardiff’s low carbon networks funded under the Heat Networks Investment Project and the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme will sit alongside GHNF support for new build, expansion and decarbonisation projects. Technical opportunities flagged include community-led ambient temperature networks for off-gas-grid housing and mine water heat schemes identified in the Wales Mine Water Heat Opportunity Map.

France’s central bank has liquidated its remaining 129 tonnes of gold held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, selling the “non‑standard” bars between July 2025 and January 2026 and buying replacement bullion in European markets that meets modern international bar specifications. The transaction generated a €13 billion ($15 billion) capital gain, turning a 2024 net loss of €7.7 billion into an €8.1 billion net profit for 2025, while keeping total reserves unchanged at about 2,437 tonnes now stored entirely in the BdF’s La Souterraine vault. The Bank of France still plans to upgrade a further 134 tonnes of older bars to current standards by 2028.

The Institution of Civil Engineers has warned that the UK government’s new Better Connected integrated transport strategy lacks the clear, long-term objectives and investment pathways needed to steer major rail, road and mass transit schemes. ICE argues the document omits essential components such as defined modal priorities, a sequenced project pipeline and stable funding signals that asset owners and contractors require for planning multi‑decade programmes. The critique signals continued uncertainty for large schemes needing early geotechnical investigation, corridor safeguarding and staged capacity upgrades.