Froydis Cameron-Johansson, a former senior executive at Rio Tinto and Anglo American who began her career at Shell, has been appointed the International Council on Mining and Metals’ first woman president and CEO, effective 23 November. She succeeds Rohitesh Dhawan, who will remain to support the transition until end-2026 after overseeing the creation of the Global Tailings Management Institute and the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative. Her mandate centres on tightening industry-wide mining standards, accountability and ESG performance across critical metals and minerals value chains.

More than £2.2bn in unspent Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) contributions held by planning authorities in England and Wales could be redirected to tackle the growing local road maintenance backlog, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Better Roads says. MPs want the government to simplify rules and improve transparency so councils can more readily use CIL funds for carriageway resurfacing, pothole repairs and structural renewals. For highway engineers, this signals potential medium-term funding for asset management plans and heavier interventions beyond reactive patching.

Welsh Senedd members have passed a motion calling for a review of the Barnett Formula and for rail to be formally devolved, arguing that UK Government classification of HS2 as an “England and Wales” project has denied Wales billions in consequential funding. The motion presses Westminster to accelerate rail infrastructure investment in Wales and give Welsh ministers greater flexibility over block grant allocations for schemes such as Core Valley Lines upgrades and mainline electrification. For civil engineers, any change could materially alter long-term funding certainty for renewals, resilience works and new capacity.