On 15 July, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) issued advice on the next COVID-19 booster campaign, to take place this Autumn.

There are criteria as to who will be offered a booster of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine this autumn:

• residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
• frontline health and social care workers
• all adults aged 50 years and over
• persons aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group
• persons aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
• persons aged 16 to 49 years who are carers

You should be offered an appointment between September and December, with those at highest risk being called in first. You should have your booster at least 3 months after your last dose of vaccine. Please accept the invitation for a booster as soon as you are invited, to help keep you and your loved ones safe.

You will either be contacted directly or appointments will be available from the National Booking Service shortly.

Please register as a carer with your GP as they offer free health checks and flu jabs for carers.  Ask at your local surgery for more information.

If your GP knows you are a carer he/she can provide you with the right support.  The surgery may be able to make reasonable adjustments to help you fit in appointments around your caring responsibilities.  Your GP will also be able to look out for early signs that your caring role may be affecting your health.

You may be able to have your flu ad booster vaccine at the same time – if not please go ahead anyway, you can have the other vaccine at a later date.

A carers' group is going to be held at Herald Lodge Care Home, Canley, Coventry CV5 6AR. The first Tuesday of each month, the next being on 4 October, 2pm to 4pm.

This is open to carers and cared for. There will be a coffee shop area available for carers to chat, have a coffee and socialise. Also there will be staff from the care home providing an activity for the cared for and supporting them where needed.

For further details or information about how to join please email Rebecca Waite or call her on: 07522 200 141.

This is a brand new group and it’s not necessarily just for the fittest among us. Who knows we might have an “Alan Titchmarsh or Charlie Dimmock ” in our midst. If you are interested please contact them, so they can see how many people would like to attend.

If you have a disability which now prevents you from gardening, you can still contribute the benefits of your knowledge to the group (The Penny Collard Centre has wheelchair access). If you already have an interest in gardening or would like to learn and experience more, then this carers group could be for you.

What we will be doing

• Meeting once per month or fortnightly (depending on the season)
• Seed sowing
• Planting out
• Light garden maintenance
• Taking home the fruits of your labour.

Benefits of this group

• It is well known that gardening is not only advantageous for your physical fitness but is also beneficial for your mental health.
• We intend to utilise the indoor and garden areas of the Penny Collard Centre to sow seeds, nurture them, plant them out and watch them grow.
• Harvesting and taking home the fruits of your labour.
• Of course what would a carers group be like without the customary chat, tea, coffee, biscuits and cake.

For further details or information about how to join please email Carers Trust with Gardening as the subject or call 02476 632972 option 1.

This month has been another busy month with the young adult carers!

We have celebrated our young adult carers receiving fantastic results in their GCSEs and A- levels.

Staff received some excellent feedback regarding the revisions Your Future was able to put on in the evenings during exam time.

" Thank you so much for the revision sessions. It really made a difference to me and I did better than I thought I would". 

Silver Sunday 2 October 2022 from 12 noon.

Silver Sunday connects older people with opportunities, services, and people around them. Furthermore, it encourages wider society to reflect and reconnect with neighbours, family members and organisations where they too can help and benefit from the richness of a cohesive society. Coventry’s event is taking place at the Central Library from 12 noon. Please do drop by, it’s a great opportunity to meet new people and have a chat. Whilst you are there you can also find out what else is going on across Coventry’s libraries.

Coundon Library Poetry Morning

You are invited to a poetry morning at Coundon Library on Thursday 13 October at 11am. Poets, Mandy Ross and Steve Pottinger, will be sharing poems at this relaxed event.

Mandy Ross has written over 60 children's books, as well as poetry and plays for adults. She is resident "Poet in the Woods" at Ledbury Poetry Festival and is a workshop leader with a real gift for sharing creativity. 

Steve is a poet, author, and workshop facilitator, and a founding member of Wolverhampton arts collective "Poets, Prattlers and Pandemonialists". He has performed at Ledbury Poetry Festivals, the Edinburgh Free Fringe, and in venues across the country. 

Everyone is welcome to this free event.  No booking required, but if you would like further information, please send them an email or give them a call 024 7678 6969.

Download and listen to e-audiobooks

Borrowbox is always open for you to download and listen to e-audiobooks.  For advice on using Borrowbox including downloading and using the app visit the Coventry Library ebooks website.

From 1 October, the Energy Price Guarantee will come into effect to help householders with their rising energy costs. It means that a ‘typical’ bill will be around £2,500 a year.

The price cap is designed to save a typical household £1,000 a year but…..This is not a maximum bill!  The £2,500 is based on a typical household usage – but the more energy you use… the more you pay.

That’s because the Energy Price Guarantee limits the amount you can be charged per unit of gas or electricity, it does not put a maximum limit on your bill. So, your exact bill amount will continue to be influenced by how much energy you use.

Reduction on its way

The £400 reduction on domestic electricity bills (announced earlier in the summer) will still go ahead.  It’s called the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Those who have a standard credit meter will receive an automatic deduction to their bills from their supplier over the six month period from October – totalling £400.

Traditional prepayment meter customers receive Energy Bill discount vouchers from the first week of each month, issued via SMS text, email or post, using the customer’s registered contact details. Customers will need to redeem these at their usual top-up point, such as their nearest local PayPoint or Post Office branch.  

Be very careful to avoid scams - no household will be asked for bank details at any point.

Households most in need will also be eligible for further support in addition to the Energy Bill discount. This includes:

• a £650 one-off Cost of Living Payment for around 8 million households on means tested benefits;
• a £300 one-off Pensioner Cost of Living Payment for over 8 million pensioner households to be paid alongside the Winter Fuel Payment;
• a £150 one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment for around six million people across the UK who receive certain disability benefits;
• a £500 million increase and extension of the Household Support Fund available to councils to support vulnerable households with the cost of essentials such as food, utilities and clothing.

Act on Energy – here to help

Coventry City Council has partnered with Act On Energy – an energy advice charity with more than 20 years’ experience. They can help people across Coventry to keep warm and well this winter.

Act on Energy can offer expert advice on:

• Energy efficiency tips to reduce your bills
• Grants and funding for energy efficiency measures
• Grants for replacement heating systems
• Help with fuel bills and Energy debt
• Billing issues with your supplier

The advice is free– simply call on 0800 988 2881 or find out more about Act on Energy 

As well as advice over the phone, home visits can also be arranged, and even free small measures can be provided such as low energy light bulbs.

Some funding schemes require certain criteria to be met – but others don’t, so it’s well worth giving them a call now to see how they can help you.

We want to hear from people who live, work or study in Coventry, we need your views on the city’s priorities for the next eight years.

The One Coventry Plan provides our vision until 2030. It outlines how we will work together with our partners and communities across the city to achieve our priorities.  

 The plan is more focused on the needs and aspirations of our communities than ever before. We have listened to, and reflected on what people have been telling us and considered the key issues facing the city. We will build on learning from our citywide response to Covid.  

We describe the way that we work together with residents and partners as our One Coventry approach. The approach helps bring people and organisations from across the city together to work as one to make the biggest, positive difference to the lives of those who live and work in the city. 

Visit Let’s Talk Coventry to read the draft One Coventry Plan, find out more about our priorities, give us your views by filling in our short survey and register your interest to attend one of our workshops.   

This is a real chance for you to get involved and have your say on the One Coventry Plan. 

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. 

If you’d like any more information or you have any questions, please drop the One Coventry team an email.