diff --git a/devops-pipelines/backend/backend-pr-build-and-test.yml b/devops-pipelines/backend/backend-pr-build-and-test.yml
index 7a31b6ad5..ac382fefb 100644
--- a/devops-pipelines/backend/backend-pr-build-and-test.yml
+++ b/devops-pipelines/backend/backend-pr-build-and-test.yml
@@ -18,11 +18,19 @@ variables:
     value: '10.0.*'
   - name: testResultsDirectory
     value: "$(Agent.TempDirectory)/TestResults"
+  - name: prSourceBranch
+    value: $[variables['System.PullRequest.SourceBranch']]
+  - name: prTargetBranch
+    value: $[variables['System.PullRequest.TargetBranch']]
 
 pool: "LACC PreProd Pool"
 
 stages:
   - stage: Build_And_Test_Backend
+    condition: not(and(
+        eq(variables.prSourceBranch, 'development' ),
+        eq(variables.prTargetBranch, 'main')
+      ))
     displayName: "Build, Test & Package"
     jobs:
       - job: Package_NuGet
diff --git a/devops-pipelines/tag-repo.yaml b/devops-pipelines/tag-repo.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cc325a594
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devops-pipelines/tag-repo.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+trigger:
+  branches:
+    include:
+      - main
+
+pr:
+  branches:
+    include:
+      - main
+
+variables:
+  - group: lacc-deployment-global
+  - name: buildReason
+    value: $[variables['Build.Reason']]
+
+pool: "LaCC PreProd Pool"
+
+steps:
+  - checkout: self
+    persistCredentials: true
+
+  - script: |
+      set -euo pipefail
+
+      if [[ ! "$(releaseVersion)" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+        echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]The value of variable releaseVersion: $(releaseVersion) is not a valid semantic version. Expected format: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH."
+        exit 1
+      fi
+
+      newTag="v$(releaseVersion)"
+
+      # get the highest release tag from origin
+      # ignore peeled references produced for annotated tags
+      latestTag=$(git ls-remote --tags origin 'refs/tags/v*' |
+        awk '$2 !~ /\^\{\}$/ {sub("refs/tags/", "", $2); print $2}' |
+        sort -V |
+        tail -n 1)
+
+      if [[ -z "$latestTag" ]]; then
+        echo "##vso[task.logissue type=warning]No release tags found in the remote repository."
+      else
+        echo "Latest remote tag: $latestTag"
+        echo "New release tag: $newTag"
+
+        # validate the latest remote tag format
+        if [[ ! "$latestTag" =~ ^v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+          echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]The latest tag found in the remote repository has an unexpected format: $latestTag. Expected format: vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH."
+          exit 1
+        fi
+
+        # fail if newTag is less than or equal to latestTag.
+        highestVersion=$(printf '%s\n%s\n' "$latestTag" "$newTag" | sort -V | tail -n 1)
+
+        if [[ "$highestVersion" == "$latestTag" ]]; then
+          echo "##vso[task.logissue type=error]The semver value of variable releaseVersion: $(releaseVersion) must be greater than ${latestTag#v}."
+          exit 1
+        fi
+      fi
+
+      echo "The respository will be tagged with the new release version $newTag"
+      echo "##vso[task.setvariable variable=newTag;]$newTag"
+    displayName: "Validate releaseVersion Tag"
+
+  - script: |
+      set -euo pipefail
+
+      # overwrite any local tags. We are only interested in the remote:
+      git tag -f $(newTag)
+
+      git push origin refs/tags/$(newTag)
+    # only tag repo on merge to main:
+    condition: and(succeeded(), eq(variables.buildReason, 'IndividualCI'))
+    displayName: "Tag Repository"
diff --git a/devops-pipelines/ui/ui-pr-build-and-test.yml b/devops-pipelines/ui/ui-pr-build-and-test.yml
index fca90c3cc..029e3e7d3 100644
--- a/devops-pipelines/ui/ui-pr-build-and-test.yml
+++ b/devops-pipelines/ui/ui-pr-build-and-test.yml
@@ -18,9 +18,17 @@ variables:
     value: ui-spa
   - name: covDir
     value: "coverage"
+  - name: prSourceBranch
+    value: $[variables['System.PullRequest.SourceBranch']]
+  - name: prTargetBranch
+    value: $[variables['System.PullRequest.TargetBranch']]
 
 stages:
   - stage: Build_and_Test_UI
+    condition: not(and(
+        eq(variables.prSourceBranch, 'development' ),
+        eq(variables.prTargetBranch, 'main')
+      ))
     displayName: "Build & Test UI SPA"
     jobs:
       - job: Build_and_Test
@@ -143,3 +151,16 @@ stages:
             inputs:
               summaryFileLocation: "$(workingDir)/$(covDir)/merged/Cobertura.xml"
               failIfCoverageEmpty: true
+
+  # On PR development -> main, run the E2E tests in dev
+  - stage: Run_E2E_tests
+    condition: and(
+        eq(variables.prSourceBranch, 'development' ),
+        eq(variables.prTargetBranch, 'main' )
+      )
+    dependsOn: []
+    displayName: "Run E2E Test on Dev"
+    jobs:
+      - template: ../templates/e2e-playwright-test-job.yml
+        parameters:
+          environment: "dev"