Things move very fast in politics and our new Prime Minister Andy Burnham is already making a positive impact barely a fortnight into the role.
He has taken steps that will improve the lives of people in our city, including removing VAT from electricity bills and capping bus fares at £2 for most single fares from January. Both these schemes will put more money into people’s pockets, giving households some much needed breathing space.
The news that pubs, clubs and live music venues will get a 20% cut in business rates from April will also be most welcome for many businesses in our city.
In his maiden speech, he also pledged to end rough sleeping, injecting £340m over three years. Our work with rough sleepers locally is exemplary and we have gone to great lengths in recent years to support everyone sleeping rough to find a pathway off the streets. Any additional money will support our ongoing work to eradicate rough sleeping.
He is also passionate about public transport and buses, hence the national fare cap. This is further music to my ears, after all it was our administration along with Cambridgeshire County Council, which raised a financial contribution helping to extend the local Tiger Bus Pass, allowing under 25s to travel for just £1.
The Mayor's free parking initiative will start soon, but I'm wondering if this move really goes far enough. Transport isn't all about cars and encouraging more vehicles into the city centre could have environmental impacts as members of my Cabinet voiced at last week’s public meeting.
We will be monitoring the scheme and I'm interested to hear feedback from residents.
I want to express my thanks to officers in our housing and emergency planning teams who supported with an emergency incident at Varity House last week.
Over 250 residents there were left without running water for five days following a fire which destroyed the building's water tank. Our officers attended and assisted the management company to ensure that residents had temporary access to toilets and water, before the issue was eventually resolved.
Although this is a privately managed property, the council has a duty to help ensure high housing standards across Peterborough and support residents whenever their welfare is seriously affected. I am extremely proud of work at Varity House.
If you're looking to get school uniform sorted ahead of the new school year don't forget that a free event takes place today (Friday 31 July).
We are holding a school uniform pop-up shop outside the Town Hall in Bridge Street from 12 – 5pm, giving families a chance to swap, donate or take school uniform items.
Not only is this helpful for families struggling with the expense of school uniform, but it’s part of our commitment to reducing waste and increasing reuse opportunities.
As a parent, I'm fully aware how difficult and costly it can be to keep your children entertained during the summer holidays.
This is why I’m so pleased that through Peterborough Family Hubs we are offering a full programme of family activities for children of all ages in this city, completely free of charge.
We’ve got forest school activities from 4 to 6 August, free one-hour skate sessions at Planet Ice on 12 August, Outdoor Cinema at Westraven Community Garden on 14 August and a Family Festival to round off the holidays on 27 August at the Athletics Track.
These events are already proving popular - with 758 people attending two circus sessions held last week. There’s no need to book in advance – just keep an eye on our social media channels for more information.