Nottingham is leading the way with green travel alternatives to the car, which is playing a big part in our carbon neutral ambitions. Tomorrow at our Executive Board meeting we are discussing two items that together show we have secured more than ?18m for transport improvements. These will benefit cyclists and pedestrians on three key routes in the city, and allow NCT to enhance their already excellent green credentials with 78 new electric buses adding to the 29 electric buses and 120 biogas buses already in our city.

Delivering high quality sustainable green transport will enable Nottingham to become a resilient city that is able to cope and do its bit to help tackle climate change. By improving the liveability of local neighbourhoods and creating healthier streets, that are co-designed with our communities, all residents will benefit from a smarter, cleaner, better connected and forward-looking transport system. All designed to make Nottingham a better place in which to live, work, play and invest.

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We?ve announced today the next step in our ambitious bid to make Nottingham carbon-neutral by 2028. Our new Informal Planning Policy Guidance document will support residential and commercial developments and will seek to reduce carbon emissions from buildings. The city?s bold carbon-neutral pledge is something we can?t deliver on our own and so this is a great way to partner with a significant local industry to bring about lasting environmental change.

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Today, the world celebrates World Refugee Day ? because every person has a right to seek safety ? whoever they are, wherever they come from and whenever they are forced to flee.

World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It celebrates the strength and courage of the ordinary people who have been forced to flee their homes to escape conflict or persecution. It is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their situation and to recognise their resilience.

Nottingham is a welcoming city and we are proud to provide refuge to those in need. We work closely with organisations in the voluntary sector such as the?Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum?and the?Arimathea Trust, who offer vital support to new arrivals in our city in whatever way they can.

In May we elected Cllr Wendy Smith as the Lord Mayor of Nottingham. This is largely a ceremonial role which oversees our full council meetings but also has many civic duties including hosting VIP visitors to the city, presiding over citizenship ceremonies and more. As part of the role, the Lord Mayor selects a charity to champion for the year they are in office.

For this year Cllr Smith has chosen Notts Deaf Society. As a former Teacher of the Deaf, Wendy has lots of experience with working with people who are deaf or have some hearing loss. As well as supporting people directly, she is passionate about raising awareness of the challenges that deaf people can face, as well as the positive aspects of deafness, increasing social inclusion and use of British Sign Language.

Last week Cllr Smith attended the launch of 999BSL, a new app which enables BSL users to contact the emergency services. Visit 999bsl.co.uk to find out more about the new App.