The UK Government has announced changes to the way the Environment Agency and Natural England handle planning casework, aiming to speed up consents for major housing and infrastructure schemes. A new central Infrastructure Unit will triage and coordinate environmental assessments on nationally significant projects, with standardised templates and earlier engagement intended to cut repeated requests for information. For civil and geotechnical teams, the shift could compress timelines for flood risk, groundwater, habitat and nutrient neutrality assessments, increasing pressure on front‑loaded site investigation and design.

Canada’s proposed “buyers’ club” for critical minerals, raised by Prime Minister Mark Carney in meetings with Rio Tinto and Australian officials, would see like‑minded countries jointly contracting long‑term offtake for battery and magnet metals such as lithium, nickel and rare earths. For Australia, participation could de‑risk financing for new mines and refineries by underpinning bankable offtake, but would also expose producers to tighter ESG conditions and potential price caps. The move signals a shift from ad‑hoc spot sales towards coordinated, government‑backed demand aggregation in critical minerals supply chains.

CITB has set a £11.5m employer networks budget for 2026-27, restricting access to micro, small and medium-sized firms (fewer than 249 staff) while creating a separate large employer fund. From April, these smaller employers can book training through networks at 50% match funding, subject to new annual caps of £1,500 for micro (up to nine staff), £2,000 for small (10–49) and £4,500 for medium (50–249). Large employers will instead access a £18,000-per-year large employer fund for any in-scope training, tied to an agreed training plan.