6 March 2026
Hi everyone, I hope you have had a good week. It's been lovely to see a bit of sunshine and the nights are getting lighter. It always makes me feel better.
It's been a relatively quieter week for me with not too many meetings. This has given me the chance to catch up with lots of work and prepare for future meetings by reading papers.
I started the week with a regular catch up with Matt Storey, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, and Mike Greene, Chief Executive, where we update each other on current policies and discuss local issues and priorities.
Later in the day I chaired Cabinet pre agenda, to go over the agenda items for the upcoming Cabinet meeting. It is a long agenda but there are some great items on there.
On Tuesday morning I had my regular catch up with Tom Bryant, Chief Executive of Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA). We discussed my priorities for Stockton-on-Tees, the best value notice, the upcoming TVCA Cabinet meeting and my Cabinet portfolio which is Education, Employment and Skills.
I then met with my co-Councillor Steve Nelson and Thirteen Housing to discuss any issues that tenants have in our Ward, Norton Central.
I ended the day with a Cabinet briefing.
On Wednesday morning, I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel for the Mayor's Civic Awards. It isn't an easy job choosing winners because every nomination was worthy of an award. Reading the nominations makes you very proud of the residents of Stockton-on-Tees who go above and beyond to make our Borough a better place.
After this I met with a lovely young girl from Bright Minds Big Futures (BMBF). BMBF is a national award-winning youth-led movement, who work with us to help make the Borough a great place to grow up. The young person is interested in politics and wanted a chat with me to hear about my journey in becoming the Council's first female Leader. She is extremely bright and wants to be Home Office Minister one day!
In the evening, I attended my Ward Surgery which I hold every month in Norton Library. It is always well attended by residents with various issues. This week's included parking, gas works and refuse collections. We also had Police Community Support Officers in attendance to discuss crime figures and issues in the Ward.
Yesterday I attended a Local Government Association meeting before meeting my dad and daughter for lunch.
Today I have a rare day off and am catching up on emails and casework.
I have no plans for the weekend but hope the sun is shining again. Sunday is International Women's Day, a day that I always try to celebrate. My lovely sister Karen died when she was just 36 and it's very apt that it's also her birthday. She was one of the strongest women that I have ever met, and I learned a lot from her.
Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a lovely weekend.
