Summer highs and lows

Hello everyone, and I hope you're all looking forward to having a good summer break.

Not everyone, though, will be going away - and I'm not just talking about those hapless motorists stuck at passport control in Dover.

The significant rise in the cost of living has hit many families hard in Bury. For some, this means they are literally struggling to buy food and pay their bills. For others, it means that the long-awaited holiday will have to wait that bit longer.

We're determined to ensure that those most in need do not have a summer of discontent. That's why we've put half a million pounds into providing food vouchers over the school holidays to around 6,500 families whose children receive free school meals.

We are also providing grants towards the cost of school uniforms, which we know can be a heavy burden on families given how quickly youngsters grow up. And we're running our holiday activity programme which, as well as providing meals, gives our young people a huge range of sporting and artistic projects to get involved in - which is good for both their physical and mental health.

While this is important to ensure we recover from the COVID pandemic, and to respond to the current cost of living crisis, it's equally as vital to make sure we plan for the future.

Over the summer, we'll be drawing up our new strategy to improve skills. Making sure our young - and not so young - people from all sections of our society have the talent, ability and opportunity to flourish in the years and decades to come. Everyone deserves the chance to fulfil their potential, and be well prepared for the economic challenges that will come our way.

We'll be announcing more about this after the summer. In the meantime, have a great holiday if you can.