Friday 16 October

This week continued to be dominated by discussions on Coronavirus as cases in the Borough have again risen. You will have seen that Government has placed Stockton-on-Tees  in 'high alert' and strict measures have been imposed. 

I urge you all to keep following the guidance to wash your hands regularly, wear a face covering indoors and keep at least 2 metres apart from others.

On Monday morning I had a regular meeting with the Council's Assistant Director of Administration, Democratic and Electoral Services, Margaret Waggott to go through some regular Council business.

Later I joined a virtual meeting of the Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership where among the items on the agenda we discussed the economic impact of Covid-19 as well as recovery of the cultural and visitor sector across the region.

I joined the Deputy Leader, Councillor Jim Beall for the first of our two update meetings with the Council's Managing Director, Julie Danks. As always these regular meetings are a welcome opportunity to keep up with the latest Coronavirus developments as the situation can move very quickly.

I then had a Teams meeting with the Tees Valley Leaders, Mayors and Chief Executives where, as anticipated, discussions largely focussed on our response to the pandemic. Helpfully, we were also joined by members of Public Health England to discuss the local implications of the Government's Tier 2 restrictions.

Later that day I enjoyed speaking with the young people who sit on the Big Committee for Bright Minds Big Futures (BMBF). The youth-led movement works with the Council to make sure that young people make their voices heard and the Borough is a great place to grow up.

Wednesday was dominated by the virtual LGA Community Wellbeing Away Day and Board Meeting. There was a big agenda which included a special presentation on mental health and wellbeing, as well as a national report on adult safeguarding.

Cabinet met on Thursday evening and Members discussed a number of reports ranging from a paper on the Council's Customer Service excellence, to our work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Borough. Of course we also discussed a report on the next steps to produce a masterplan for each of our town centres.

Today Councillor Beall and I will be meeting with Julie Danks again for the second of our Coronavirus updates this week. I'll then chair a meeting of the Local Outbreak Engagement Group (LOEG) to discuss the latest coronavirus case figures in Stockton-on-Tees as the rate continues to rise. Don't forget you can keep up to date with the latest updates via the Council's News pages.