Today?s Ofgem announcement about the energy price cap rise by 80% will no doubt come as a devastating blow for many Nottingham families who are already struggling to make ends meet.

Based on the latest national data from 2020, 20.6% of Nottingham citizens were calculated to be in fuel poverty. The impact of the cost of living crisis and changes to Universal Credit are having a huge impact on Nottingham?s population.

We will continue to push for a better response to this nationally, but in the meantime, it?s important for people to be aware that there is support available to them, from local schemes that help to lower energy bills, really helpful free online and in-person advice and Government support packages which people should make use of if they are eligible.

Find out more about help available here ?

Brilliant to hear this week that Nottingham has been awarded ?1.5million to help get more people walking and cycling.

The trial will see social prescriptions, including walking and cycling, offered by GPs as part of a plan to improve mental and physical health and reduce health inequalities.?

The money will be spent on initiatives to help make active travel more affordable and sociable, including e-cycle loans, taster days, led rides for people with visual impairment, cycle repair and maintenance, cycle buddy scheme, adult cycle training, women?s cycle support package, led walks, walking buddy schemes and groups.?

More information here

This weekend is the last bank holiday of the Summer. I wish everyone a nice weekend and hope you all get a chance to enjoy the warm weather.

I would like to remind those whose bin day is usually Monday that your bins will be collected tomorrow, Saturday 27^th August, instead. Please remember to put your bins out tonight ready! You can also sign up to receive email bin reminders so you know when to be notified of when to put your bins out - https://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/binreminders

If you decide to visit one of our fantastic Nottingham parks or The Beach over the weekend please help us to keep them tidy for everyone and remember to throw your rubbish away in a bin ? if bins are full please bring your rubbish home with you to throw away instead of littering our parks and green spaces. You can let us know if you see a bin that needs emptying or something else that needs dealing with ? http://nottinghamcity.gov.uk/reportit

Enjoy the long weekend!

On Wednesday evening, I was delighted to welcome local businesses to Nottingham Castle, for a Books & Business evening for the Imagination Library Nottingham. The Imagination Library is a charity delivering a monthly free book to local children from birth to age five. The scheme is proven to improve literacy skills and helps to better prepare children for the start of school and beyond.

While I am really pleased that 10,000 Nottingham children have now benefited from the scheme, the charity is reliant on the generosity of donations in order to be able to continue to reach even more children. The business event gave us the opportunity to raise awareness about the work the charity is doing and how local business can help.

It was so nice hearing the positive impact the scheme is having from local parents whose children are involved in the scheme and the Domlal Foundation, Nottingham Bid and Conygar, on why they have chosen to support this amazing initiative.

Every donation makes a difference, so, if you can give a donation or want to find out more about the Imagination Library, visit www.dollybooksnottingham.org

Congratulations to our young people who have received brilliant results even though their education has been interrupted by Covid. Some may have already secured places in Sixth Forms, colleges or apprenticeships, while others may be looking for or have found work, but there will be those who have not yet decided what to do or may have had their plans interrupted.

It?s a challenging time in a person?s life and it may seem daunting deciding what to do next when it feels like their entire future is in the balance. There is plenty of support and advice available to young people to help them with making those big decisions, be it with simply deciding what to do next following their GCSEs, guidance with how to remain on track with goals and plans, or with changing their minds entirely and going down a different path to what they had initially planned.

To help with this, Futures has produced this Results Day guide with plenty of advice and information on how to get started.

Whatever decisions they make, I would like to wish all of our young people good luck in their futures!

As the summer holidays come to an end, there?s still plenty of activities happening in Nottingham before schools return.

• Nottingham Mela Festival returns 2-4 September at New Art Exchange with a programme of fun free events
• Free Bands in the Parks concert at Nottingham Arboretum on Sunday 4 September
• The beach at intu Victoria Centre is open until Monday 29 August with free bookable sessions
• Nottingham Beach in Old Market Square runs until 4 September
• Outdoor cinema at Wollaton Hall ? tickets are still available for performances this weekend, and the weather is forecast to be dry!