Today the notice for the City Council elections on Thursday 4 May has been published and we enter what is known as the ?pre-election period.? As part of that, this newsletter will no longer be produced by myself or my Deputy Leader, Cllr Adele Williams. You will continue to receive important updates from the City Council however, keeping you informed about what the City Council is doing and what events and opportunities there are for you in our city.

I am proud that over the last four years we have been able to deliver on our strategic priorities as a council, including building 1,000 new affordable homes; supporting 7,635 city residents into work, providing a free book every month from birth to five years for more than 10,000 Nottingham children, reducing climate change by planting 24,000 new trees since 2019, recruiting 7,000 Clean Champions to help make our neighbourhoods clean and tidy, and most recently announcing a date for the re-opening of Nottingham Castle.

Being Leader of the City Council is a great privilege and I hope you have enjoyed these newsletters and found them useful. I would like to give a special thank you to those who have written into me off the back of these newsletters. Your questions and comments have always been a helpful source of information for me as Leader.

Finally, if you are not already, please ensure you are registered to vote for the upcoming City Council elections - Register to Vote - Nottingham City Council and remember that you will need ID to vote.

Councillors have agreed to move forward with devolution plans for the region worth at least ?1.14 billion.

City councillors formally backed the plans at a special meeting on Thursday. Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council have also both approved the move, with?Nottinghamshire County Council yet to make their decision.

If all four councils back the plans, and agree on a final version of the proposal, it would potentially mean new local powers and funding to improve the environment, skills training, transport, housing, and the economy for the region. Devolution in the East Midlands could then become a reality from spring 2024, with the first ever election for a regional mayor, covering Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Derby, and Nottingham, potentially taking place next May.

The East Midlands has often been an area of low Government funding, compared to many other areas of the UK. If these proposals go ahead, a guaranteed funding stream of ?38 million a year for 30 years could help to reverse this trend and opens up the potential for more funding in the future.

The devolution deal would not mean scrapping or merging local councils, which would all continue to exist as they do now and would still be responsible for most public services in the area. The mayor and combined authority would instead focus on wider issues like transport, regeneration, and employment across both cities and counties.

Find out more on devolution and the benefits here

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I was delighted to attend a reception for our city?s foster carers on Wednesday. We have over 200 carers and it was a good opportunity to meet those who could attend. I know some of the guests from my time as the portfolio holder for Children, Young People and Schools and it was good to meet some of the new carers who have joined us since.

The current portfolio holder, Cllr Cheryl Barnard, who has a long experience of fostering and has only stepped back from it this year, cut a celebratory cake and shared it among our dedicated foster carers. I enjoyed the poetry performance by Nottingham?s Ravelle-Sade Fairman who read her poem especially commissioned for the reception. You can read the text here.

We need more foster carers to look after the city?s children. If you feel you would like to know more about fostering with the city, please look at our website www.fosteringnottingham.com or follow the team on Facebook @fosteringnottingham. Our fostering team would love to help you join our family of carers.

It?s fantastic news that the City Council has secured ?2.9m to retrofit 371 social homes in the city. These homes will have cavity wall, external wall and draught-proofing installed, which will result in lower bills for Nottingham City Homes residents and support the city?s ambition to be carbon neutral by 2028.

This is part of ?47m of funding the council secured from the Government?s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund on behalf of the Midlands Net Zero Hub, made up of 14 housing associations and ten local authorities. The grants will be used to install over 15,000 measures such as insulation, draught-proofing and double glazing. This will improve the energy efficiency of up to 4,226 socially owned homes in the region, making them warmer in the winter, while reducing energy bills and carbon emissions.

More here

I would like to wish everyone observing Ramadan in Nottingham a peaceful and healthy month.

Ramadan, the holy month of fasting observed by many Muslims, has begun and ends next month. Those taking part do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset to celebrate and reflect on their faith.

I want to wish everyone observing Ramadan in Nottingham a peaceful month full of joy and health.

Ramadan Mubarak!