Category: 3. Business

This Energy transition assessment, developed by IRENA in partnership with the Ministry of Water and Energy of Chad, provides a thorough analysis of the key conditions necessary for renewable energy deployment and the acceleration of Chad’s energy transition. Chad faces significant development challenges, including high exposure to climate change and an economy heavily dependent on hydrocarbon resources. The country’s energy mix is dominated by traditional biomass, while the electricity access rate is among the world’s lowest at 12%, with electricity generated mainly from fossil fuels.

The country possesses abundant strategic assets, however, including solar, wind and biomass resources that can be leveraged to facilitate its energy transition. Chad’s strategic goals for 2030 include an electricity access rate of between 60% and 90%, and a national energy mix in which renewables account for between 20% and 30%. Achieving these ambitions requires significant investment in energy services and a strengthening of the energy governance framework.

This assessment proposes tailored short- and medium-term action plans and recommendations to overcome a variety of obstacles to the transition in Chad. Key recommendations focus on enhancing planning, policy and regulatory frameworks, including finalising the 2019 Law on electricity sector reform. The report also outlines strategies for accelerating electricity access via mini-grids and the deployment of solar power systems, promoting clean cooking solutions, strengthening energy efficiency measures, addressing financing and investment gaps, and strengthening capacities, skills, and awareness-raising across the energy sector.

NatWest and Lombard, the UK’s largest asset finance provider, have today announced a new partnership with the Farming Community Network (FCN), a voluntary organisation and charity dedicated to supporting farmers and their families across the UK.

Recent studies have shown that farmers are at higher risk of poor mental health compared to other professions, making targeted wellbeing support more important than ever. As one of the UK’s leading banks for agriculture, with over 40,000 farming customers nationwide, the bank is uniquely positioned to detect customers in need of support through its dedicated network of face-to-face agricultural specialist managers which are embedded in farming communities across the country.

Through this partnership, NatWest and Lombard’s agriculture sector team have received dedicated training from the FCN, enabling them to spot the early signs of stress and mental health challenges among farmers and their families. This ensures that these colleagues can offer timely support and guidance, helping customers to access FCN’s wellbeing resources, while supporting mental health awareness and resilience within the agricultural sector.

Rachael Watson, Head of Agriculture at Lombard, commented:

“Farming is more than a profession—it’s a way of life, shaped by unpredictable weather, market pressures, and the immense responsibility for land and livestock. These realities can have a profound impact on farmers’ mental health. As a bank serving over 40,000 farming customers across the UK, we believe that it’s essential to support the wellbeing of the farming community. By partnering with FCN and embedding wellbeing awareness into every customer interaction, we’re committed to ensuring farmers and their families have access to practical support. Our agricultural specialists have completed FCN’s wellbeing training, equipping them to understand and address the unique challenges faced by farmers today.”

Georgina Lamb, Head of Partnerships for the Farming Community Network, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with NatWest and Lombard to further our mission of supporting farmers and farming families during challenging times. By working together, we can reach more individuals with essential information, resources, and a listening ear, helping them manage stress and build resilience for the future.”

Do you want to know where new homes could be built in North East Lincolnshire, where businesses could develop and how we will protect the environment around them? Would you like to see if, or where, new schools might be built?

Have your say on how North East Lincolnshire grows and develops in the years ahead. Consultation on the draft Preferred Options Local Plan (2025–2043) is open now.

If you live in Immingham, you can visit our face-to-face event this Thursday January 8 at Burton Hall, Civic Centre, Pelham Road, from 5pm until 8pm, when  planning officers will be available to answer questions and help you respond to the latest round of consultation. This event will give you a chance to look at the Council’s preferred housing and employment site options.

This Stage Three consultation on the Local Plan began on December 8 and runs until 23.59 on February 1 2026. Electronic and paper copies of the survey questions are available to give everyone the opportunity to have their say.

The statutory review of the Local Plan began two years ago and attracted responses from more than 1,100 individuals at the last consultation. These have been reviewed and will inform the next phase of the process, and you can still have your say, or make new comments, on any, and all aspects of the Local Plan.

The review had to be paused in 2024 to consider and incorporate Government changes that have increased the housing target for many local authorities, including North East Lincolnshire. As a result, the council is now undertaking this further round of consultation and updating evidence in relation to housing and employment need. Draft Plan changes relate to: 

• Jobs growth and employment needs within the plan period
• The requirements for new homes and the distribution of these homes; and
• Specific site allocations for employment and residential uses.

The new housing target for North East Lincolnshire, based on the Government’s ‘standard method’ introduced in December 2024, is now 622 homes per year, totalling 11,196 homes over the plan period. Adoption of the revised plan is now expected in 2028 with its life extended until 2043.

All comments from the 2024 consultation will be considered equally alongside new submissions. Full responses from the earlier consultation are available on the “What People Said” tab consultation portal.

You can view the Preferred Options document and supporting documents online at www.nelincs.gov.uk/local-plan-review.

Paper copies will be available to read at Cleethorpes Library, Immingham Library, Waltham Library, Grimsby Pop-Up Library, The Gingerbread House, Humberston, Scartho Community Library, and the Municipal Offices, Grimsby.

To take part in this Stage Three consultation visit the Local Plan consultation portal at: https://nelincs-consult.objective.co.uk/kse/

Another face-to-face event will take place on Saturday January 17  at Cleethorpes Library, Alexandra Road, Cleethorpes, DN34 8LG, from 9am until 1pm.

You can also:

• Email: send your comments to [email protected]
• Write to: Spatial Planning, North East Lincolnshire Council, Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, DN31 1HU.

06 Jan 2026

Consultation has begun on a planning document which aims to help all involved in the delivery and development of new affordable homes in West Suffolk.

The Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) is primarily aimed at developers as well as registered providers who manage affordable housing schemes on a day-to-day basis.

Once adopted, the SPD will serve to provide further guidance on the application of existing affordable housing policies in the adopted West Suffolk Local Plan adopted in July 2025 and will help deliver the council’s strategic priority for affordable, available and decent homes.

As the local housing authority, West Suffolk is responsible for helping people in housing need, the majority of whom are from West Suffolk or have a local connection. There are a few exceptions such as veterans, people fleeing domestic abuse, and care leavers.

Affordable housing is housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not met by the market and includes a number of tenures including affordable rent (around 80 per cent of market rent levels) social rent (which is lower than affordable rent) discounted market sales, shared ownership and other routes to home ownership

Cllr Richard O’Driscoll, Cabinet Member for Housing at West Suffolk Council said: “There is a huge need for more affordable housing in West Suffolk. High rents and a lack of affordable housing is a significant factor in the number of households that at risk of homelessness that we help. We also have close to 2,500 households on our affordable housing register including around 850 in urgent or high need. 
“We recognise that the challenges around housing is not something we can tackle on our own. That’s why our Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy sets out a partnership approach, and we recently held a very positive developer forum which discussed working together to deliver more homes that are genuinely affordable.”

Cllr Frank Stennett, the Cabinet Member for Planning at West Suffolk Council said: “One of the ways we are also looking to address the need for more affordable homes is through the West Suffolk Local Plan adopted in July last year. It includes a new policy requiring 40 per cent of new homes on greenfield sites to be for affordable housing against the old requirement of 30 per cent. 
“This Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document complements the local plan with further guidance all with the purpose of aiding the delivery and development of new affordable homes here in West Suffolk.”

The purpose of the consultation is to double check that the SPD provides clear guidance for the application of adopted Local Plan affordable housing polices for developers, registered providers and others involved in affordable housing delivery.

The Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document consultation runs to 17 February. The draft SPD can be read online where people can leave their feedback. Hard copies can be viewed at West Suffolk House, Mildenhall Hub and Haverhill House.

Drivers over the age of 70 will have to have their vision checked every three years, under plans to reform driving laws in Britain.

The changes are part of the government’s new road safety strategy, which will be published on Wednesday.

Other proposed measures include lowering the drink-driving limit in England to match the limit in Scotland, and giving penalty points for not wearing seatbelts.

These measures were first reported in August and are expected to be confirmed in this week’s strategy.

6 January 2026

Bank interest rates for corporations

Data for cost of borrowing and deposit interest rates for corporations (Chart 1)

The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator, which combines interest rates on all loans to corporations, remained broadly unchanged in November 2025. The interest rate on new loans of over €1 million with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to three months decreased by 4 basis points to 3.15%. The rate on new loans of the same size with an initial rate fixation period of over three months and up to one year rose by 7 basis points to 3.33%. The interest rate on new loans of over €1 million with an initial rate fixation period of over ten years increased by 7 basis points to 3.49%. In the case of new loans of up to €250,000 with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to three months, the average rate charged rose by 8 basis points to 3.67%.
As regards new deposit agreements, the interest rate on deposits from corporations with an agreed maturity of up to one year stayed almost constant at 1.91% in November 2025. The interest rate on overnight deposits from corporations stayed almost constant at 0.52%.
The interest rate on new loans to sole proprietors and unincorporated partnerships with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to one year remained broadly unchanged at 4.00%.

Table 1

Bank interest rates for corporations

Data for bank interest rates for corporations (Table 1)

Bank interest rates for households

Chart 2

Bank interest rates on new loans to, and deposits from, euro area households

Data for cost of borrowing and deposit interest rate for households (Chart 2)

The composite cost-of-borrowing indicator, which combines interest rates on all loans to households for house purchase, remained broadly unchanged in November 2025. The interest rate on loans for house purchase with a floating rate and an initial rate fixation period of up to one year remained broadly unchanged at 3.54%. The rate on housing loans with an initial rate fixation period of over one and up to five years stayed almost constant at 3.35%. The interest rate on loans for house purchase with an initial rate fixation period of over five and up to ten years showed no change at 3.48%. The rate on housing loans with an initial rate fixation period of over ten years stayed almost constant at 3.15%. In the same period the interest rate on new loans to households for consumption showed no change at 7.33%.
As regards new deposits from households, the interest rate on deposits with an agreed maturity of up to one year remained broadly unchanged at 1.75%. The rate on deposits redeemable at three months’ notice stayed constant at 1.21%. The interest rate on overnight deposits from households showed no change at 0.25%.

Table 2

Bank interest rates for households

Data for bank interest rates for households (Table 2)

Further information

The data in Tables 1 and 2 can be visualised for individual euro area countries on the bank interest rate statistics dashboard. Additionally, tables containing further breakdowns of bank interest rate statistics, including the composite cost-of-borrowing indicators for all euro area countries, are available from the ECB Data Portal. The full set of bank interest rate statistics for both the euro area and individual countries can be downloaded from ECB Data Portal. More information, including the release calendar, is available under “Bank interest rates” in the statistics section of the ECB’s website.

For media queries, please contact Benoit Deeg, tel.: +49 69 1344 95686

Notes:

• In this press release “corporations” refers to non-financial corporations (sector S.11 in the European System of Accounts 2010, or ESA 2010), “households” refers to households and non-profit institutions serving households (ESA 2010 sectors S.14 and S.15) and “banks” refers to monetary financial institutions except central banks and money market funds (ESA 2010 sector S.122).
• The composite cost-of-borrowing indicators are described in the article entitled “Assessing the retail bank interest rate pass-through in the euro area at times of financial fragmentation” in the August 2013 issue of the ECB’s Monthly Bulletin (see Box 1). For these indicators, a weighting scheme based on the 24-month moving averages of new business volumes has been applied, in order to filter out excessive monthly volatility. For this reason the developments in the composite cost-of-borrowing indicators in both tables cannot be explained by the month-on-month changes in the displayed subcomponents. Furthermore, the table on bank interest rates for corporations presents a subset of the series used in the calculation of the cost-of-borrowing indicator.
• Interest rates on new business are weighted by the size of the individual agreements. This is done both by the reporting agents and when the national and euro area averages are computed. Thus changes in average euro area interest rates for new business reflect, in addition to changes in interest rates, changes in the weights of individual countries’ new business for the instrument categories concerned. The “interest rate effect” and the “weight effect” presented in this press release are derived from the Bennet index, which allows month-on-month developments in euro area aggregate rates resulting from changes in individual country rates (the “interest rate effect”) to be disentangled from those caused by changes in the weights of individual countries’ contributions (the “weight effect”). Owing to rounding, the combined “interest rate effect” and the “weight effect” may not add up to the month-on-month developments in euro area aggregate rates.
• In addition to monthly euro area bank interest rate statistics for November 2025, this press release incorporates revisions to data for previous periods. Hyperlinks in the main body of the press release lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions. Unless otherwise indicated, these euro area statistics cover the EU Member States that had adopted the euro at the time to which the data relate.
• As of reference period December 2014, the sector classification applied to bank interest rates statistics is based on the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010). In accordance with the ESA 2010 classification and as opposed to ESA 95, the non-financial corporations sector (S.11) now excludes holding companies not engaged in management and similar captive financial institutions.