15 May 2026

Hello everyone, I hope you have had a great week. Once again, I have been under the weather this week but have somehow made it through to Friday, albeit with a reduced diary.

On Monday I met up with Councillors to discuss current issues and make plans for future priorities. I also caught up with all of the emails and case work that had came in over the weekend.

On Tuesday I travelled to Teesside Airport to chair the Education, Employment and Skills (EES) Advisory Group meeting for the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA). It was a really interesting meeting, and we discussed and made decisions on many things including the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), Youth Hubs, and Apprenticeships.

On Wednesday I attended the Health and Wellbeing Board pre-agenda meeting before having my regular catch up with Cabinet members.

When I appointed Cabinet just over a year ago, I did say portfolios would be reviewed after a year. We have decided to move a couple of things around, and Cllr Paul Rowling is now Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Resources and Regeneration, whilst Cllr Richard Eglington is Cabinet Member for Housing and Transport.

Yesterday, I attended the Corporate Parenting Board Development Day where we had a facilitated session looking at the future of the Board.

Later in the evening, I chaired Cabinet. This was the first Cabinet meeting to be live streamed, and it wasn't ideal to chair it with a face mask on to stop my germs spreading to others!

It was a packed agenda with seventeen items but there were some excellent reports to be discussed.

Today I am heading over to the opening of the newly refurbished Darlington Railway Station. I have an evening meeting tonight but will then switch off for the weekend.

On Saturday I'm hoping to celebrate a friend's birthday with some nice food and drinks. On Sunday, I'm travelling up to Newcastle for a media interview and afterwards, I may indulge in a bit of retail therapy!

Whatever you're doing, have a great weekend.