Leader's blog

Friday 15 November 2024 

My week began with a quieter day on Monday, allowing me to catch up with some important paperwork and other items.

On Tuesday morning I met with Nicola Shelley, Managing Director for North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO). NEPO works in partnership with the twelve North East Local Authorities to secure quality services and goods which are good value for money.

In the afternoon, I joined Councillors and other senior members of the Council for the Executive Scrutiny Committee. We discussed meeting procedure and the ongoing work under the Powering Our Future programme.

Midweek Mike Greene, Chief Executive, and I hosted a visit from Professor Paul Croney OBE, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive for Teesside University, and Professor Steve Cummings, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Teesside University. We have some very exciting plans with Teesside University which you can read about in our news section.

Yesterday, I had a catch-up with members of Thirteen Housing Group. Thirteen are a housing association and one of the Council's partners that provide around 100,000 people in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber region with homes and housing support, so it is always good to touch base and keep up-to-date with their current priorities.

In the evening, I attended Cabinet. A busy agenda included the plans with Teesside University, the Procurement Plan and Higher Value Contracts, and the Local Accounts for Adults, Health and Wellbeing.

This morning, I am attending a pre-agenda meeting for the Health and Wellbeing Board, in preparation for the full meeting in a couple of weeks' time.

This weekend I will be spending some time with my family and relaxing. Last week was an incredible week for the Boro, winning 4-1 and 5-1 in our last two games against QPR and Luton respectively. It's put us in a really strong position going into the international break and our squad will be fired up for our next match against Oxford, which could bring us into the playoff spots.