Spotlight: Your weekly round-up of key developments in Parliament and the top stories in the Energy, Development and Infrastructure sectors

ENERGY

📰 SPENDING REVIEW: Rolls-Royce will develop the UK’s first small modular reactors (SMRs), backed by £2.5bn of public investment | Power Technology

✒️SPENDING REVIEW: £2.5bn new funding to support the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) programme at West Burton | East Midlands CAA

🗣️Grid Capacity: Energy Capacity and Net Zero | House of Commons debate

📰’UK offshore wind workforce to grow by 48% | renews

✒️ SPENDING REVIEW: Thousands of jobs to be created as government announces multi-billion-pound investment to build Sizewell C | Press Release from the HM Treasury and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

📰 Campaigners pursue another legal challenge over Sizewell C as Chancellor gives project green light | Local Government Lawyer

INFRASTRUCTURE

📰 SPENDING REVIEW: UK government pledges £15bn for city region transport and record rail funding in 2025 Spending Review | CiTTi Magazine

📰 SPENDING REVIEW: £2bn in funding for Government’s AI action plan, including an AI adoption fund to help public services integrate AI tools (e.g. for planning services) | Public Technology

📰 SPENDING REVIEW: New stations in £445m 10-year Wales rail plan | BBC News

🗣️Mass Transit: West Yorkshire | Westminster Hall debate led by Mark Sewards Labour, Leeds South West and Morley

✒️Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill | 2nd reading

📰Reeves promises Industrial Strategy by end of June | renews

📰 ONS: Construction growth gathers momentum | The Planning Index

📰 RWE made to sweat over radar concerns for huge UK offshore wind project | Recharge

📰 Cut to £200M funding for cycling and walking infrastructure ruled unlawful | New Civil Engineer

DEVELOPMENT

📰 SPENDING REVIEW: £39bn for affordable housing | Local Gov

📰 Industry reacts to Labour spending review | PBC Today

📰 UK offers more investment for housing, seeks wider private capital | Reuters

✒️PM unveils AI breakthrough to slash planning delays and help build 1.5 million homes | Press Release from the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

✒️Planning and Infrastructure Bill | Report stage and passed third reading

📰 Planning and Infrastructure Bill passes third reading in Commons | Planning (paywall)

📰 Environmental Delivery Plans: Will they deliver? | PBC Today

✒️Rooftop solar for new builds to save people money | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

📰 Most new homes must have solar panels – Miliband | BBC

📰 Planning permissions for new homes sink to new low | The Planning Index

📰 Judge refuses permission for judicial review of planning permission for 10,000 home garden town project | Local Government Lawyer