With the price cap set to rise by up to 54% on Friday, I know that many Nottingham residents will be worried about their energy bills. Alongside partner organisations, we?re running three drop-in advice events in April to help you tackle the increasing cost of powering and heating your home.

At these free events, we will be offering a range of support, including energy-saving advice, benefits checks, boiler repair measures and more. I hope that attending these events will help to alleviate some of the anxiety that people are feeling around their bills. Find out more about the events

I would also urge everyone to submit meter readings for your energy bills as close to the end of the day as possible tomorrow (Thursday). If you?re relying on estimated readings, this could help you to save money when the price cap rises. If you?re not sure how to read your meters, Citizens Advice has a helpful guide here.

We are holding a public memorial event on the steps of the Council House in Nottingham to remember those who have lost their lives to Covid-19 ? and you are invited to join us.

Taking place on Saturday at 1pm, the event will include a minute?s silence and will bring together faith leaders and civic guests, including the Lord Mayor and the Sheriff of Nottingham. We will also be joined by representatives from the NHS, police, universities and community and voluntary groups.

The event follows a series of ?living memorials? to remember the people who have died from Covid in Nottingham since the start of the pandemic, which is now approaching 1,000 deaths.

A Covid Memorial Tree was planted at the Forest Recreation Ground ? site of Covid vaccinations and testing ? and Forget-me-not seeds were given to every primary school and made available free to the public from libraries to create an annual city-wide bloom.

A Covid Memorial Garden is to be created in Bulwell Forest, while 1,000 trees will be planted across the city to represent those who have died.

You can read more here: https://www.mynottinghamnews.co.uk/covid-19-memorial-event-to-remember-those-lost-to-the-virus-in-nottingham/

I?m delighted to announce that the Midlands Energy Hub has successfully been awarded ?14.9m of Government funding from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) to make energy-efficiency improvements to 1,570 social houses in the Midlands.

Homes that are hard to keep warm will be improved with measures including insulation, heat pumps and solar panels.

As part of this bid, Nottingham City Council has secured more than ?2.8m to retrofit 298 homes in the city. The SHDF funding builds on previous success that the city has had improving social housing, which results in lower bills for Nottingham City Homes tenants and contributes towards our target to be a carbon-neutral city by 2028.

Due to the energy crisis, many residents in the region will be struggling to pay their bills, so it?s really important that we act now. Improving the energy efficiency of homes will save tenants money, improve their health and wellbeing, and lower their carbon footprints at the same time. Read more

It?s been ten years since the introduction of the Workplace Parking Levy. Since its introduction back in 2012, the WPL has raised more than ?90m for sustainable transport in Nottingham and contributed towards the extension of the tram, the electric linkbus network and the transformation of Nottingham Station.

The scheme has also helped to constrain congestion growth by offering high-quality, reliable alternatives to driving into the city. Offering people good, reliable alternatives to the car is the key to keeping the city moving and giving people more flexibility and choice over the way they travel.

My fellow councillor and Portfolio Holder for Transport, Councillor Rosemary Healy, has taken a look back at 10 of the key achievements of the scheme over the past decade. Read more.

We received the news this week that we were successful in a ?15m bid for greener buses as part of the Government?s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas fund (ZEBRA).

Funding will be used to help fully electrify NCT?s Trent Bridge depot and purchase 78 new electric buses to replace NCTs older, single-deck buses.

Greener buses help to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, which has a major impact on the health of our citizens and the planet. Plus, newer buses offer a more comfortable journey for passengers too.

It?s great that we?re working with NCT to help them become one of the UK?s first carbon-neutral bus operators, and Nottingham a carbon-neutral city by 2028.