It was a busy week for the Labour government.
While the prime minister joined world leaders at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, government departments kept up the pace at home.
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. Challenging unfair service charges
Labour is giving flat owners the right to see exactly what they’re paying for.
From 1 April 2027, more than three million leaseholders in England can demand details of their service charges, including from previous years, and landlords will need a good reason to refuse. The powers come from the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which passed just before the election but needed new rules before it could take effect.
Previously, landlords could bill leaseholders for their legal costs when they challenged a charge, win or lose. Now landlords will need a court or tribunal’s approval first, and leaseholders can claw back their own legal costs too.
2. GP check-ups for vulnerable patients
Labour is paying GPs to keep at-risk patients well at home.
Up to 300,000 people with heart disease, frailty, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will get extra help this winter, such as health checks, medication reviews, and nurse-led breathing clinics. The £40 million gives practices £126 for each patient they support.
t comes as the number of GPs has risen by more than 2,800 since July 2024, with around 24 million more appointments in the past year than in the year before the election.
3. £12 billion offshore wind investment
Labour has backed two major new wind farms with public money.
The government is investing £1 billion from the National Wealth Fund in the Vanguard East and West wind farms, part of a £12 billion package led by energy firm RWE and investor KKR. It’s believed to be the biggest investment of its kind in UK history.
The farms are expected to support more than 2,400 jobs and supply the equivalent of around three million homes once they’re running in 2030.
4. Cutting packaging costs for pubs
Labour is ending a double charge on glass bottles sold to pubs.
Right now, businesses can end up paying twice to recycle the same packaging. From April 2027, glass drinks containers sold straight to pubs, restaurants, and other licensed venues will be exempt from recycling fees, worth up to £870 a year to a pub selling 10,000 bottles of beer and 3,700 of wine.
Labour is also consulting on lower fees for easy-to-recycle packaging like glass and paper, which could cut them by up to 40 percent a year.
5. Housing support for homeless veterans
The Labour government is funding specialist help for ex-forces personnel with nowhere to live.
£8.7 million is going to eight housing providers across the UK, including in Scotland, Liverpool, and Kent, to give veterans with complex needs help with health, addiction, and jobs.
The government is also asking councils in England to draw up plans to offer accommodation to every veteran sleeping rough before Christmas, using its record £4.4 billion rough sleeping budget.
6. Wider access to credit unions
Labour is opening up cheaper loans and savings to more families.
Credit unions are community lenders that offer small loans and savings accounts at better rates than many high street banks. At the moment, you can only join through a relative if that relative still lives in the credit union’s area.
Labour is adding a change to the Financial Services and Markets Bill so that more than 50,000 members who’ve moved away can refer a relative or someone they live with. It follows the government raising the cap on local credit union membership from three million to ten million.
7. Familiar carers for home care
Labour is helping people who get care at home see the same carers more often.
At the moment, councils can book visits from several providers spread across a wide area, so someone might see a different carer from one day to the next. Councils will now be encouraged to give each neighbourhood one or two main providers, so care workers stay local and get to know the people they look after.
Carers who know someone well can spot changes in their health sooner. Research in Bristol also found organising rounds by area could deliver the same care with 35 percent less staff time and 65 percent less driving.