12 June 2026

Hello everyone, I hope you are well.

My week began with various meetings, catching up with Cabinet Members and Leaders of other groups. I then chaired an Informal Cabinet and Corporate Management Team briefing before meeting with my group members on Monday evening.

Tuesday, I had a rare day off and had a day out in Sunderland to see Take That, which was a birthday gift from my daughter.

Midweek I met with Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley, to discuss my Portfolio with the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA).

I then joined a Health and Wellbeing Board pre-agenda meeting to discuss the agenda items we want to prioritise as a Board ahead of our full meeting later in the month.

On Wednesday evening, I attended the Eastern Ravens Trust Gala dinner at Middlesbrough College, with the Mayor of Stockton-on-Tees, Councillor Bob Cook and the Chair of Eastern Ravens, Councillor Jim Beall.

One of the young carers from Eastern Ravens, Malakai, is a student at Middlesbrough College doing Level 2 Catering and Hospitality. As part of the course, students do a social action project which is centred around doing something for others. The young carer put Eastern Ravens forward for the social action project and their full class chose them because of their experience of being a young carer and the support from Eastern Ravens.

As a result, Malakai held an informal Gala Dinner with fellow students, cooking a three course meal for others while at the same time raising funds for young carers. 

Yesterday I visited the Employment and Training Hub for a roundtable discussion with officers and partners on the Social Mobility Commission. This is part of my role as Cabinet Member for Education, Employment and Skills with the TVCA.

Today I chaired the Corporate Parenting Board where we discussed fostering friendly businesses and looked at the future of the Board, and I look forward to sharing our plans for the future.

This afternoon has been spent catching up with emails and case work.

I have a meeting tomorrow morning but no other plans for the weekend. I'm looking forward to chilling out and having a quiet weekend. I hope you have a great time as the weather looks to be good.