9 June 2023

A busy week began with a catch up with Councillor Lisa Evans, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Children and Young People. I also attended induction sessions for members following May's election for Cleveland Police, Cleveland Fire Brigade and Tees Valley Combined Authority. These sessions are important to keep up-to-date with the latest rules and regulations, even for those who have been members for a number of years like myself.

I then joined the Cabinet pre-agenda meeting where we discussed a number of important items, including the Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services (ILACS) report and school term and holiday dates for 2024 to 2025.

On Tuesday, I attended my quarterly liaison with Steve Turner, Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner, to discuss crime and policing in the Borough. In the evening, I attended an Army engagement event to promote greater awareness and understand of the Army.

On Wednesday morning, I met with a variety of members of Stockton-on-Tees' voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector at a corporate social responsibility event held by Catalyst. These events help create opportunities for mutual benefit by bringing together many different organisations and businesses. I also met other Tees Valley Council leaders at the City Regions Board to give updates on what's happening across the region. In the afternoon I had my regular catch-up with Mike Greene, Chief Executive, and Jon Carling, Chief Executive Officer at Catalyst, to discuss VCSE plans in the coming weeks.

On Thursday, I had a quieter day which allowed me to catch up with important paperwork.

Today I'm visiting Manchester with Mike Greene, Councillor Lisa Evans and some of the regeneration team to meet developers doing work with the combined authority and councils in the area. I'm looking forward to seeing how we can apply their ideas to the Borough.

At the weekend, I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my family.