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

It was a busy week for the Labour government.

While Westminster was grappling with the fallout of Henry Nowak’s murder, departments were pressing ahead.

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. Tackling prostate cancer inequality

Labour has invested over £20 million to expand prostate cancer research and treatment, with a focus on Black men.

Black men are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer and twice as likely to die from it. The funding will scale up a trial which tests the best ways to detect the disease early, so all eligible Black men will be invited to take part for the first time.

By 2027, men being monitored or treated for prostate cancer will be able to order at-home PSA finger-prick tests or book local blood tests directly through the NHS App.

2. Joining up your NHS records

Labour has introduced legislation to create a single patient record, giving every doctor, nurse, and specialist in England a complete view of your medical history.

At the moment, health records are fragmented across different providers, meaning patients often have to repeat their history from scratch at every appointment.

The NHS Modernisation Bill, which was debated in Parliament for the first time on Monday, will require all NHS providers to share data securely, cutting misdiagnoses and unnecessary treatments. It’s expected to save the NHS more than £20 million a year on medication errors alone.

The practical result is that up to 20,000 fewer patients will need to go to A&E each year, and 6,000 fewer will be admitted to hospital.

3. Expanding dental training to blackspots

Labour has confirmed the first expansion of dental school places in nearly 20 years, backed by £11 million of funding.

The University of East Anglia and the University of Portsmouth will each receive 25 new training places, bringing dental education to two of England’s worst-served areas.

Portsmouth has fewer than 100 NHS dentists for a population of over 200,000.

Training begins in September 2027, with 50 additional dentists qualifying every year thereafter.

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4. Supporting children in care to find family

Labour is investing £8.4 million to help children in care reconnect with family members.

More than 81,000 children are in care, and in 2024 more than one in five were living over 20 miles from their home community. Many lose contact with relatives entirely, leaving them without the support networks most of us take for granted into adulthood.

Family Finding programmes work by actively searching for extended family members – grandparents, aunts, uncles, old family friends – and brokering relationships with them. Pilots showed participating children gained an average of nearly two additional meaningful relationships.

5. Britain’s biggest train operator in public hands

Govia Thameslink Railway has transferred into public ownership, covering Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern, and Gatwick Express.

GTR is Britain’s largest train operator, running roughly one in every six passenger rail journeys nationwide. Nine of the 14 franchises are now publicly owned, with Chiltern Railways next in line in September.

The new public operator has committed to a 100-day improvement plan, including doubling Gatwick Express services from December and deploying 110 Travel Safe Officers on Thameslink.

6. 10 million free school breakfasts

Labour’s Free Breakfast Club programme has served 10 million meals to children across England, freeing up more than 5 million hours of childcare for working families.

Over 300,000 children across 1,250 clubs are benefitting, with families saving up to £450 and 95 hours of childcare costs a year – up to £25 million in total savings across the programme.

The national rollout continues, with an additional 2,000 schools set to join by March 2027, backed by £80 million of investment.

7. Support hub for terrorism survivors

Labour has launched a round-the-clock support hub for victims and survivors of terrorism, ending years of fragmented services.

The hub assigns each person a dedicated caseworker and builds a personalised support plan, covering immediate emotional support, specialist psychological care, and tailored provision for children. It’s accessible 24/7 by phone or online.

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