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New procurement rules will see companies with a track record of poor delivery, fraud or corruption blocked from winning public contracts, the Cabinet Office has announced today. The plans are published as part of the consultation response to its procurement green paper. The new plans are set to give the government more discretion to exclude previously poorly performing suppliers, such as...

Every household in Wales will be offered a free tree to plant as part of the Welsh Government’s commitment to tackle climate change, Deputy Minister Lee Waters has promised. The first trees will be available to collect from March, from one of five regional community hubs that will be established. The Welsh Government aims to set up a further 20...

The Environmental Audit Committee is calling for views on revising the traditional measure of UK economic prosperity to take greater account of natural capital and environmental sustainability. The committee is to examine how the UK Government could incorporate environmental sustainability into its leading measures of the country's economic success. The committee will hold two hearings in early 2022, as a preliminary...

Sustainability charity WRAP, in partnership with WWF, The Rivers Trust and many other supporting organisations, has launched a Roadmap towards Water Security for the Food & Drink Supply (the ‘Water Roadmap’) to 'protect vital water resources for the benefit of nature, local communities and the food and drink sector.' The Roadmap builds on the Courtauld Commitment Water Ambition to deliver...

The transformation to a net zero economy is feeding through to the employment market, accounting for 1.2% of total advertised jobs, equating to 124,600 new jobs, for the year to July 2021. However, disparities are already arising in how the transition to greener jobs is affecting different parts of the UK. These findings come from PwC’s Green Jobs Barometer, described as...

Scottish Government's draft heat networks delivery plan sets out how the provisions of the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021, and related policies, will contribute to increased heat networks across Scotland. It also outlines the proposed regulatory regime for the heat networks sector in the country. A new consultation focuses on a draft document, which offers a series of proposals and seeks...

Led by the National Trust, some of England’s largest landowners and managers have come together to sign up to a range of commitments to help the government meet its net zero ambitions and reverse environmental damage. Those who have signed up include the RSPB, the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Church Commissioners for England, the Duchy of...

The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme “underperformed badly”, upgrading only about 47,500 homes out of the 600,000 originally envisaged and delivering a small fraction of the expected jobs, according to a new report by the Public Accounts Committee. According to the committee, the scheme accounted for just £314 million of its original £1.5 billion budget, and £50 million of that...

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on a new heating benefit that will give around 400,000 low income households the reassurance of a guaranteed £50 payment every winter. The Low Income Winter Heating Assistance will be introduced from winter 2022 to replace the current UK Government Cold Weather Payment scheme. The current UK Government benefit triggers a £25 payment only...

National Grid Electricity Transmission plc (NGET) and Scottish Power Transmission plc (SPT) have agreed to pay a redress package of £158 million for delays to the Western Link Project, following an Ofgem investigation. £15 million of the redress package will be paid into Ofgem’s Redress Fund. Operated by the Energy Saving Trust, the Fund allows companies to pay a sum...