As September gives way to October and we settle into autumn, I’ve had a week of meetings in and away from the Town Hall, as well as a couple of visits. On Monday I had several internal meetings in preparation for public meetings later in the week. I also joined my Executive colleagues for a finance meeting as we work towards the publication of our draft budget proposals for 2027/28. However, the main highlight of my day was spending time with some of our new members of staff as part of their induction. They’re joining teams across the organisation, and I had the opportunity to respond to their questions regarding my role.
On Tuesday I chaired a meeting of Trafford’s Locality Board where we set aside some time to reflect on our recent Care Quality Commission and Ofsted inspections. We had some valuable contributions from health partners- particularly around the work underway post Ofsted. That support is important as we focus on what areas of service we need to improve, and where we need to build on current good practice. Later on that day I joined my colleague Eve Parker for a return visit to Altrincham Film Club. We both loved our last visit and were there this time to watch a screening of It Was Just An Accident in the surroundings of Altrincham Town Hall. Altrincham Film Club is a great way to catch films that don’t necessarily make it into other cinemas and it’s good to see the club thriving.
The following day I had a catch up with Greater Manchester & High Peak Ramblers, in my capacity as Honorary President. I was able to update on my new Bee Network responsibilities at GM. I was also delighted to hear about progress being made with the Trafford Trails initiative that formed part of our Trafford Labour Manifesto earlier this year. Later on that day we had a meeting of the Labour Group at the Town Hall before I cycled home in the dark- a visible sign of the change in seasons.
On Thursday I travelled into the city centre for a meeting of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway Board, the first with Bev Craig there as Mayor of Greater Manchester. The room was full of stakeholders from across Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Warrington and Cheshire and it really does feel like this project is gathering momentum- particularly since the previous Chair and champion of a new line is now our Prime Minister. Later that day I joined my ward colleagues, Jane and Steve, for a doorknocking session in our ward. We just did an hour but it was good to get back into the habit after a few weeks off.
Our foster carers in Trafford are amazing, and so on Friday morning I was very pleased to be able to say a few words of thanks at our annual Foster Carer Celebration before seeing my colleague, George Devlin, hand out awards to inspiring people who do so much to support and care for younger people in Trafford. Later that day I joined my Greater Manchester colleagues for a meeting in the city centre, where we discussed different areas of policy and how best we work together to make sure we deliver for residents across GM.
Finally, on Saturday I spent some time on the doorstep supporting my Sale Moor colleagues, where I had a range of conversations from our recent change of leadership to the services we provide at a local level. I then finished my week in Altrincham at Harbour Bonham in A4 Studios. I had been invited there by Sing Wu from Bonham Tree Aid CIC to see a new exhibition documenting the history of Hong Kong publication, Apple Daily, which was an important part of Hong Kong’s free press until it was shut down in 2021. Political prisoner Jimmy Lai is inextricably linked with the Apple Daily and during my visit I got to learn more about him, and the work Bonham Tree CIC carry out to raise awareness of, and support, political prisoners and their families in Hong Kong. We’re very fortunate to have such a thriving Hongkonger community in Trafford and I was pleased to be able to spend some time at this important exhibition.