Dear All

Shropshire Council launched a new grant scheme yesterday - The Shropshire Wide Economic Recovery Grant which offers one off grants of £10,000 to £25,000 to support immediate Summer activity. It is only open for applications until next Friday 18^th June when applications close at 4pm. The criteria and full details can be found on this link

Priory Country Park, a well-known and well-loved country park, has had its County Wildlife Site status extended.

County Wildlife Site status acknowledges a site's importance for wildlife, and sites of this nature contribute significantly to the richness and biodiversity of the countryside.

Priory Country Park's lakes and the stretch of the river that runs through it have had County Wildlife Site status for a number of years. Thanks to long-term careful management of the park, wildflowers have been encouraged to spread and flourish, creating a welcoming home for native wildlife.

Many congratulations to Nick da Costa who has been elected as the new chair of Federal Conference Committee (FCC), following Geoff Payne's decision to stand down earlier this year.

Nick is a councillor in Haringey as well as an experienced FCC member, bringing to the role a great understanding both of how conference works and of what we need to do as a party to win.

People looking after their loved ones too often feel forgotten.

Yesterday, I spent some time meeting with a wonderful group of unpaid carers.

We had been brought together by Carers UK and a number of other carers' organisations as part of Carers Week, so they could share their experiences directly with me and we could discuss what changes might make their lives better.

First doses of the Pfizer vaccine are available to all Bedford Borough residents aged 18 and over, with no need to book this Saturday from 1pm to 7pm at the Guru Nanak Temple, 84 Ford End Road, Queens Park Bedford MK40 4JX.

Bedford Borough has one of the highest rates of infection in the country. Getting vaccinated is one of the best ways to protect each other and stop the virus spreading.

On Wednesday evening Bedford Borough Council Executive approved the next stage of consultation for the Local Plan 2040, which is set to begin later this month.

Local Plans set out where growth and development will take place- everything from homes and jobs to schools and infrastructure.

The Council is preparing a new Local Plan 2040 and will be asking for your views. Some Local Plan 2030 policies are being updated earlier than normal in order to keep them in line with national policies, for example related to the Government's new formula for housing growth, and the Oxford to Cambridge Arc.

For the past few weeks surge testing has been taking place in the Cauldwell, Kingsbrook and Queens Park areas of Bedford Borough, to identify as many positive cases as possible and break chains of transmission.

Bedford Borough Council would like to the thank residents in these areas who took up the offer of a free PCR test at either a Mobile Testing Unit site, a collect and drop off site or during the recent door-to-door distribution of testing kits. 3,785 people so far have taken a test at one of our special mobile testing units and more than 17,000 tests have been handed out as part of the surge testing programme. Residents who have yet to return their completed test can do so by dropping them at the Prebend Street or University of Bedfordshire testing sites, or by posting them in a priority post box.

In Parliament this week, South Lakes MP Tim Farron encouraged ministers to allow local headteachers to decide how funds to help pupils to catch-up with their education should be spent.

It comes after the education recovery commissioner for England, Sir Kevan Collins, resigned over the lack of "credible" Covid catch-up funding provided by the Government.

A new bike storage shelter has now opened in Bedford town centre, near Harpur Square enhancing the bike racks that are currently there.

To access the shelter, cyclists just need to email Sustainable.Transport@bedford.gov.uk with their full name, address in Bedford Borough and phone number. They will then receive details on how to access the unit and will need to download the 'Okey Access' app on their smart phone.

On the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon, South Lakes MP Tim Farron made the case for outdoor education to be a key part of the Government's plans to help children catch up with their learning this summer.

Tim encouraged ministers to look at a proposal drawn up by Cumbrian charity Brathay about bringing outdoor education professionals to come into schools to re-engage children with learning and support their mental health.