16 December 2022

The week began with the General Licensing Committee Meeting to discuss private hire driver applications. I also attended a catch up with the Superintendent of Cleveland Police, Marc Anderson, alongside several other senior Council members. It was a good opportunity to discuss the policing of our Borough and any emerging issues.

Tuesday was a busy day. In the morning, I attended a meeting of the North East Regional Employers' Organisation (NEREO) via Microsoft Teams. NEREO supports local authorities and partner organisations in the fields of human resources, management practice and employee relations.

In the afternoon, I joined a webinar about local government finance which was attended by many other council leaders and chief executives. The meeting was a great opportunity to learn more about the challenges faced by other local authorities. I then had a catch up with the Council's Managing Director, Mike Greene, about how he is settling into his new role.

On Tuesday evening, I was invited to attend the Stockton Riverside College production of Big the Musical at Stockton Arts Centre (ARC). The energetic, feel-good performance was a great evening out for this festive season.

Wednesday was a quieter day which allowed me to catch up with important paperwork.

On Thursday, I attended the Tees Valley Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) Meeting held in Durham. The partnership works with the Council and other local authorities to lead and plan care in our area, and it was useful to hear about their progress and goals.

This weekend, I'm looking forward to spending some time with my family. It was a shame to see England knocked out of the World Cup Quarter Finals after a close game with France. The team played well and I'm hopeful for the team in the Euros in 2024.

In more local football, Middlesbrough were back in action and won fought for a 2-1 win over Luton Town, scoring the winning goal in the final minute of play last weekend.

As this will be my last blog before Christmas, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone across Stockton-on-Tees a very happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.