People living near new pylons could get £250-a-year off their energy bills, minister says
Residents who live near newly installed pylons will be compensated with £250-a-year off their energy bills, a minister has said.
Housing and planning minister Alex Norris told Sky’s Wilfred Frost on Breakfast that communities “need to share the benefits” of the government’s tilt towards clean energy.
“If you’re making that sacrifice of having some of the infrastructure in your community, you should get some of the money back,” he said.
“So we’re making that commitment – £250-a-year if you are near those pylons.
“We think that’s a fair balance between people who are making that commitment to the country… they should be rewarded for that.”
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People living near power infrastructure could get hundreds of pounds off their bills a year as part of an overhaul of planning rules. File pic: PA
Ministers are currently pushing through an overhaul of the planning system – long seen as a brake on housebuilding and vital infrastructure projects – to stimulate growth in the economy.
Overnight it was announced parts of the planning system could be stripped away as part of the government’s attempts to speed up house building.
In its election-winning manifesto, Labour promised to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years to tackle the lack of affordable housing, with recent statistics showing that there are 123,000 households in temporary accommodation – including nearly 160,000 children.
Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly vowed to put “builders not blockers first”, announcing at the beginning of the year “unarguable cases” that are legally challenged will only be able to be brought back to the courts once – rather than the current three times.
Councils have also been told to come up with “immediate, mandatory” housing targets to help the government achieve its target.
Under the reforms announced last night, consulting bodies such as Sport England, the Theatres Trust and the Garden History Society will no longer be required for those looking to build under the new plans being considered by ministers.
While consultees will not be completely removed from the process, it will no longer be mandatory for builders to receive the opinion of such bodies and their scope will be “narrowed to focus on heritage, safety and environmental protection”, according to the government.
It is hoped the slimming down of the process will reduce waiting times for projects.
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Mr Norris said the interjections of official bodies in planning decisions was causing a “bottleneck” in granting applications.
“I think viewers might be surprised to hear that there are two dozen-plus organisations that have to be consulted on planning applications – that’s providing a bit of a bottleneck, often not getting back in time,” he said.
He said that while members of Sport England were “fine people”, there was a case where the body held up the development in Bradford next to a cricket pitch.
“The hold up is around a disagreement on the speed at which cricket balls are hit,” he explained.
“So Sport England are querying the modelling of the speed at which the balls will be hit, and that, as a result, has meant that the whole process is now multiple years down the line, and there’s no build out.”
Groups tackling AI-generated child sexual abuse material could be given more powers to protect children online under a proposed new law.
Organisations like the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), as well as AI developers themselves, will be able to test the ability of AI models to create such content without breaking the law.
That would mean they could tackle the problem at the source, rather than having to wait for illegal content to appear before they deal with it, according to Kerry Smith, chief executive of the IWF.
The IWF deals with child abuse images online, removing hundreds of thousands every year.
Ms Smith called the proposed law a “vital step to make sure AI products are safe before they are released”.
An IWF analyst at work. Pic: IWF
How would the law work?
The changes are due to be tabled today as an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill.
The government said designated bodies could include AI developers and child protection organisations, and it will bring in a group of experts to ensure testing is carried out “safely and securely”.
The new rules would also mean AI models can be checked to make sure they don’t produce extreme pornography or non-consensual intimate images.
“These new laws will ensure AI systems can be made safe at the source, preventing vulnerabilities that could put children at risk,” said Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.
“By empowering trusted organisations to scrutinise their AI models, we are ensuring child safety is designed into AI systems, not bolted on as an afterthought.”
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AI abuse material on the rise
The announcement came as new data was published by the IWF showing reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have more than doubled in the past year.
According to the data, the severity of material has intensified over that time.
The most serious category A content – images involving penetrative sexual activity, sexual activity with an animal, or sadism – has risen from 2,621 to 3,086 items, accounting for 56% of all illegal material, compared with 41% last year.
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The data showed girls have been most commonly targeted, accounting for 94% of illegal AI images in 2025.
The NSPCC called for the new laws to go further and make this kind of testing compulsory for AI companies.
“It’s encouraging to see new legislation that pushes the AI industry to take greater responsibility for scrutinising their models and preventing the creation of child sexual abuse material on their platforms,” said Rani Govender, policy manager for child safety online at the charity.
“But to make a real difference for children, this cannot be optional.
“Government must ensure that there is a mandatory duty for AI developers to use this provision so that safeguarding against child sexual abuse is an essential part of product design.”
Coinbase Business, a new business platform from major US crypto exchange Coinbase, has launched in Singapore, marking the company’s first international expansion.
After introducing Coinbase Business in June, Coinbase has rolled out the platform in Singapore as its first international market outside of the US, the company announced on Wednesday.
Targeting startups and small businesses, Coinbase Business provides an “all-in-one crypto operating platform” that allows users to send and receive payments in Coinbase-backed stablecoin USDC (USDC), manage crypto assets and automate financial workflows.
“By leveraging the speed and stability of digital dollars like USDC, we offer businesses a platform that enables seamless and secure trading, with instant settlement, minimal fees, and zero chargebacks,” the company said.
Strategic cooperation with Standard Chartered
Coinbase is rolling out the service in cooperation with Standard Chartered, its local banking partner, to enable Singapore dollar transfers for both retail and business clients.
With Standard Chartered’s support, Coinbase Business provides Singapore businesses with a suite of tools, including crypto trading, global payouts, payment links with a 1% transaction fee and asset management with rewards on USDC holdings.
Coinbase Business’s launch in Singapore builds on Coinbase’s long-standing collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s financial regulator.
In October 2023, MAS granted Coinbase a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license, allowing the exchange to expand its digital payment token services to both individual and institutional clients in Singapore.
Related: Coinbase debuts token sale platform with Monad launch
Last month, Coinbase announced participation in the MAS BLOOM (Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency) program, which aims to expand financial settlement capabilities by enabling the use of tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins.
“This collaboration with the MAS demonstrates how we are actively working to build the regulated, compliant infrastructure that underpins the next era of finance,” Coinbase noted.
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