The Latest Breaking News from Whitehall

Deputy Prime Minister says new unitary authorities will get planning, housing and transport powers devolved to them.

Twelve Government departments reported a drop in office attendance, while only five saw an increase

Departures and new hires expected to give PM more direct oversight of delivery of key government priorities

INSIDE WESTMINSTER: Keir Starmer’s principal private secretary is but the latest of his appointees to have been a disappointment to him – a full reshuffle of the PM’s longstanding, trusted aides is overdue, says Andrew Grice

Local authorities could be forced to approve new developments or risk giving planning control to Whitehall

A spokesperson said: “Our support for Ukraine’s independence will be clear for all to see.”

The dispute over hybrid working at the Office for National Statistics is becoming a key test of worker power, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

Manchester is closing the gap on London, with public money having helped to ‘crowd in’ a lot of private investment

Amid party divisions and issues with data, pulling existing tax levers could be a more politically palatable option

COMMENT: Party strategists are busy working out how to escape the chancellor’s doom loop of tax rises – and to crush damaging speculation about her boss’s ability to lead his party into the next general election. But the race to replace the PM may already have begun, says Andrew Grice

Giving away the Indian Ocean archipelago to the east African nation will cost £35 billion, Whitehall estimates suggest