Birmingham City Council’s youth services will be retained under an enhanced new model following feedback and engagement during the consultation process. The consultation period concluded Friday 17 January 2025, after being extended due to the high level of feedback received from youth service colleagues, partner organisations and young people. Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families Councillor Mick Brown said that input has been instrumental in shaping a robust, sustainable, and enhanced operational model that will effectively deliver the service’s priorities and support young people across Birmingham. During the consultation period, more than 1,500 responses were received from young…

Sandwell pensioners who received a letter from the council before Christmas with a £200 payment are being reminded to make sure they cash it in by the middle of March. Older people who didn’t receive a Winter Fuel Payment but who qualify for Council Tax Reduction (and not Pension Credit) were written to in December along with a voucher that needs to be cashed in at the Post Office. These payments are aimed at supporting households with people of pension age who aren’t eligible for Pension Credit, but who are on a lower income than most. More than 75% of…

An award winning Wolverhampton social enterprise has welcomed support from the city council in the form of a new long term lease agreement on its headquarters. Aspiring Futures provides education, training and support to women and girls across a range of ethnic groups within the community from The Saplings in Parkfield Road. Following approval by the council’s Cabinet, a 25 year lease on the council owned facility – adjacent to Windsor Nursery School – will be put in place. The modern single storey building was previously part of the nursery school but was vacated in 2018 due to funding. The…

Birmingham City Council is encouraging local businesses to find out more about retrofitting and how they can benefit from being involved in carrying out energy improvements to homes across the city. It is estimated that around 270,000 homes require retrofitting in Birmingham alone. For this reason, the council is looking to grow existing supply chains and the people, skills and organisations needed to deliver the work. Retrofitting is a process that makes homes warmer, less damp and more comfortable while making them more energy-efficient and cheaper to run. As well as saving on energy bills retrofitting also reduces carbon emissions.…

When you’ve been eating raw foods and changing your lifestyle, you’re feeling better, finding you have more energy, and are purging the toxins from your system. You’re also rediscovering the wonderful flavors that raw foods benefits the raw enzymes have possess, as well as learning about t on your health. And summer provides the perfect he opportunity to expand your taste buds and try all sorts of wonderful new produce options you’d never dared explore before. Don’t let your newfound inspiration and energy get lost once you set foot in the kitchen because you’ve run out of new and exciting…

On October 16 each year, World Spine Day describes the burden of spinal pain and disability for people, around the world.  World Spine Day promotes the importance of spinal health and well-being. The goal is to encourage physical activity, with good posture, responsible lifting and healthy working conditions.   Four out five people do have or will have at some point significant back pain. Spine pain affects all people across their life course and is the most noted cause of disability in every country.  World Spine Day encourages people to take steps to be kind to their spines. Free Physician 1:…

Housing and mental health are often linked. Living in stable, good quality, safe housing is a protective factor for good mental health and wellbeing – but poor mental health can make it harder to cope with housing problems, and being homeless or having problems where you live can make your mental health worse. Homelessness, rough sleeping and poor living conditions can also make people feel more isolated and more likely to experience stigma and poorer health. A World Homeless Day stall will be in Queen Square from 10am today supported by Wolverhampton BID on behalf of Alternative Giving CIO, P3,…

The Vertical Climber is the most effective exercise to burn calories in 30 minutes, new research has revealed. The analysis by fitness experts breakingmuscle.com assessed a range of different exercises to discover the top ten that burn the most calories in 30 minutes for a 30-year-old 190 pound/86 kilogram male and 30-year-old 125 pound/57-kilogram female.  The vertical climber burns on average 617 calories for men in 30 minutes, compared to 389 calories for women. The activity of climbing engages your entire body and is both a cardio and strength training exercise. The exercise engages your hamstrings, glutes, quads, back, chest,…

Every so often, a food ‘scare/scandal’ story will appear in the media about the ingredients in foods that we buy or consume daily. For instance, a few years ago, it was about horse meat being found in burgers sold by various supermarkets. Much of the reaction to that revelation verged on repugnance that discerning palates may have unwitting consumed a piece of Dobbin. There was also the concern that there was no mention of a horse on the label. One of the questions it raised was, what’s really in our food? For instance, the British may not be fond…

New research, led by experts at the University of Nottingham, has found that teachers may be attributing signs of age-related immaturity in children, to conditions such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The results of the study, which are published in the journal European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, showed that the youngest students in a class, with birth dates just before the school entry cut-off date, were overrepresented among children receiving an ADHD diagnosis or medication for the condition. Experts looked at how being one of the youngest children in a class can influence the likelihood of…