Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade · Original source
The UK government is backing the Active Debris Removal mission with more than £60 million to remove two defunct satellites from orbit by 2032, which it describes as a world first. The UK Space Agency is working with ClearSpace UK on a refuellable spacecraft that will use robotic claws and launch in 2029 from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. Space Minister Liz Lloyd said the mission would protect satellites behind GPS, weather forecasts and communications.
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency · Original source
The MHRA will update patient information leaflets for antidepressants after a review started by the Commission on Human Medicines. Changes include a boxed warning signposting information on suicidal thoughts and behaviours, a new patient card on or in medicine boxes, and use of the term Post SSRI Sexual Dysfunction for certain medicines. Chief Safety Officer Dr Alison Cave said patients should not stop treatment without first speaking to their healthcare professional.
Department for Work and Pensions · Original source
Hospitality employers including Whitbread, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Marriott and Burger King have committed to 100,000 paid jobs over three years for 18 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training, through a partnership with UKHospitality. It follows a similar 100,000-job retail pledge last month. Education Secretary Lucy Powell is also launching a call for evidence on school exclusion reforms, as persistently absent pupils are 3.9 times more likely to become NEET.
Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street · Original source
Prime Minister Andy Burnham used a speech in Lanarkshire on 15 October 2026 to invite Scotland’s First Minister to work with the UK Government on pushing more power out of both Westminster and Holyrood. He proposed developing a new model of regional empowerment for Scotland through No10 North and the Scotland Office, giving regions and cities more say to drive reindustrialisation. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander called the offer a genuine one.
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs · Original source
The government has declared severe drought in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex after the South East and South West recorded their driest April to September in over a century. Water companies must monitor reservoir and river levels daily, the Environment Agency will step up abstraction checks, and Local Resilience Forums have been stood up. Customer supplies are expected to remain uninterrupted, Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said.
Department for Transport · Original source
Great British Railways will be headquartered at Becketwell, a brownfield site in Derby city centre, the government confirmed on 15 October 2026. The new HQ will house up to 450 staff, with construction expected to start in early 2027 and finish by spring 2029, bringing an estimated £151 million boost to the region. Up to 600 people aged 16 to 21 will join a rail foundation apprenticeship over the next four years.
HM Treasury · Original source
Chancellor John Healey and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband have announced £17 million in UK funding to repair the protective shelter at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, damaged by a Russian drone strike last year. The money joins an international programme coordinated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with Ukraine and G7 donors, and will restore the structure’s confinement and ventilation functions. The UK has already given €8 million to the International Chornobyl Cooperation Account.
