Delivering in Government: your weekly round up of good news Labour stories

It was a busy week for the Labour government.

While much of the attention was focused on the questions that remain unanswered in the Peter Mandelson scandal, individual departments have been hard at work fixing the country’s underlying problems.

Here are the seven most exciting breakthroughs and announcements this week that you can use, whether you’re on the doorstep, sparring on social media, or debating in the pub.

1. Covering travel costs for children with cancer

Labour announced a £10 million support package for families of children and young people with cancer to cover travel costs to and from appointments.

That came as part of the government’s National Cancer Plan. Other changes include:

• Giving an individual support plan for every cancer patient. It will cover treatment, mental health, diet, and returning to work. They’ll also get an end-of-treatment summary with clear guidance on warning signs, and ongoing support like physiotherapy or counselling.
• Better access to breakthrough trials for rare cancer patients. They’ll be able to use the NHS app to sign up for innovative approaches to help fight their disease.

2. Reviving high streets

Labour is investing £150 million to bring struggling high streets back to life.

Targeted at areas hit hardest by decline in recent years, the funding will improve neglected shopfronts and reopen empty units.

This is the first step in the government’s High Streets Strategy. It builds on action already taken, including empowering councils to block new betting and vape shops, and giving locals the right to buy a struggling community asset before large corporations.

3. Creating 10,000 new foster care places

Labour is launching a major recruitment drive to create up to 10,000 new foster care places this parliament.

The number of approved foster carers has fallen by almost 12% over the past decade, while the number of children in care has risen. That means too many children are placed far from home or end up in residential care, where they face struggles in school, health difficulties, and even exploitation.

New rules will also modernise the fostering system, making clear that carers don’t have to be married, homeowners, or working part-time to foster effectively.

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4. More funding for local communities

Labour is expanding its Pride in Place programme to 40 more neighbourhoods across England.

Local people in each area will decide how to spend up to £20 million on their community, which can include reviving high streets, saving community spaces, or funding local events. 

The expansion is worth up to £800 million, and around 380 areas will now be part of the programme.

5. Cutting energy bills for public buildings

Labour is investing £74 million in clean energy upgrades for 82 NHS Trusts, eight military sites, and one prison.

The funding will pay for solar panels, heat pumps, and more efficient lighting, cutting energy bills and freeing up money for frontline services.

NHS sites will save almost £30 million a year on energy bills, while military sites are expected to save hundreds of thousands of pounds annually.

6. Two-child benefit cap vote passes

Labour’s bill to scrap the two-child benefit cap has passed its second reading in Parliament.

It’s expected to lift 450,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this parliament – the biggest reduction in child poverty in a single parliament on record.

That comes alongside a new £1 billion Crisis and Resilience Fund for local authorities, launching in April. It replaces the Household Support Fund and gives councils multi-year certainty instead of annual cliff-edge funding, helping families with the cost of living and preventing them from falling into poverty.

7. More railways in public ownership

Two more railways, London Northwestern and West Midlands, have moved into public hands.

They are the fourth group of services run by Great British Railways. This means half of all train journeys are now run by a publicly controlled operator, with over 8,500 services each day.

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