It has now been a week since the end of the summer holidays and, although we?ve been enjoying some late sunny weather, it?s clear we are now back to business as usual in the autumn. Getting into the routine of work and school is important but, during these difficult times of Covid-19, there are other important routines we need to establish. One of these is to test regularly for Covid, even when we don?t have symptoms. The NHS suggest we do this twice a week: on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. The free Covid tests (known as lateral flow tests) can be done yourself at home. It takes two minutes to take the test ? a simple and quick swab from the back of the throat and nose. Results take only 30 minutes to show? these 30 minutes could protect your family and friends and are a simple way of confirming that you are Covid-free. You can also get a test done at one of the many testing sites around the city and wider county.

I?m pleased to see that this week we passed the total of more than 100,000 tests carried out in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. This milestone is a great achievement for everyone who has come forward to take a test. You can find more information on where to go for test and how to order them for free online by visiting: https://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19/get-a-covid-19-test/#nosymptoms. Please remember, if you are experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 or have a positive rapid test, you must urgently take a PCR test ? you can simply book a test by visiting www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test ?or by calling 119.

This Sunday I will be attending the Nottingham Green Festival ?at the Arboretum where the City Council will be showcasing its commitment to carbon neutrality alongside many other local groups ?The festival is a celebration of all things environmentally friendly and ethical, organised and run by volunteers and this year will be a completely vegan event with everything powered by renewable energy. With the IPCC?s report on the climate emergency fresh in many people?s minds, this is a timely event which will hopefully capture imaginations and lead to even more local action to reduce our impact on the environment.

We will have some of our electric vehicle fleet on show in the ?Energy Zone,? including one of our electric bin lorries, a van from the Electric Vehicle Experience (EVE) project, e-scooters and trikes. Turning 30% of our fleet electric so far is just one aspect of what we are doing as a council to help achieve our ambition to become carbon neutral by 2028, and at the Green Festival, people will hopefully be inspired to find the many ways that they can play their part. The festival is free and runs from 12-6pm ? more information here

I was pleased to visit Clifton Leisure Centre to launch the new recycling points we have opened there for people to deposit small electrical items and Tetrapak cartons. This is a new council pilot scheme, with our Loxley House headquarters next to Nottingham Station the other location at the moment ? we plan to roll this out to other venues in due course.

Small electrical items such as mobile phones, chargers, hairdryers and toasters can often contaminate recycling and while Tetrapaks are recyclable, they are often not collected during residential kerbside recycling collections due to the material being difficult to process and separate at local recycling facilities. These drop-off points will make it easy for people to recycle these unwanted items. See more here

Yesterday was the UN Day of Clean Air and I am proud that Nottingham can boast among the best air quality of any big city in the UK, thanks to actions taken over many years.? This includes:

• ?15 million investment in one of the UK?s largest bio-gas bus fleet
• Developing and expanding the electric tram network
• Improving cycling facilities, including more cycle lanes, bike hubs and a cycle hire scheme
• Improving thousands of Nottingham homes with energy efficient measures and solar panel installation
• Planting tens of thousands of new trees across the city that improve the look of areas while also helping tackle climate change.

The success of these schemes was shown when in contrast to other areas of the country having announce the introduction of Clean Air Zones, Nottingham did not. I know there is still more to do though and our Carbon Neutral Action Plan outlines how we intend to improve air quality further.