This week I had my first 2023 meeting at the Children, Education and Skills sub-committee. The two main agenda items were Early Years and Home Schooling, both fascinating topics. Here’s a summary… Early Years Ambition. It’s been proven time and again that, pound for pound, investment in a child’s early years tends to outperform otherContinue reading “Education focus: Early Years + Home Schooling”
Category Archives: Sub-Committees
Nobody Left Behind
On Tuesday night, just ahead of England’s big game with Wales, I chaired November’s meeting of the Economic Prosperity committee. The main agenda point was “Creating An Inclusive Economy”. I’d like to take a few minutes to explain what that phrase “Inclusive Economy” is all about, and why I’m determined to ensure that here inContinue reading “Nobody Left Behind”
Public Transport and the Economy
Last night I chaired the council’s Economic Prosperity sub-committee. This is part of the democratic function known as ‘scrutiny’ where elected members from various wards around the borough (of all parties) examine and challenge the policies, decisions and spending of the Mayor and her cabinet. You can find the reports for the meeting here. TheContinue reading “Public Transport and the Economy”
Your Questions on the local Economy
As a local councillor I have to juggle quite a lot of different responsibilities. One of the most important of them is chairing a group called the “Economic Prosperity Sub-Committee”. Yes it’s a bit of a mouthful. The group is one of seven sub-committees that meet frequently to undertake a duty called ‘scrutiny’. It meansContinue reading “Your Questions on the local Economy”
Improving the Parking Strategy
On Monday of this week I attended the council’s “Overview and Scrutiny” committee. For those unfamiliar with the internal workings of the council this is a cross-party group of 15 elected councillors. Our task is to look closely at the implementation and impact of the practical things the council is doing and the policy decisionsContinue reading “Improving the Parking Strategy”
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What next after GCSE’s?
This week during a residents’ meeting at the scout hall in Preston village a resident asked me why there are so few local educational opportunities for young people living in North Shields, once they’ve completed their GCSEs. It was a really good question, no doubt prompted by the fact that hundreds of local youngsters areContinue reading “What next after GCSE’s?”
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January: What’s been going on?
As January draws to a close here’s a run down of the things I’ve been doing in my councillor role. It’s fair to say it’s been a busy start to the new year… Here’s a snapshot of some of my local casework in the ward… I was able to tick a couple of long-running repairContinue reading “January: What’s been going on?”
Making Our River Great Again
OK, I admit that’s a rather click-baity headline, but I couldn’t resist it as the regeneration of our riverside industries is the topic of this week’s update. (I have no plans to produce a line of red MORGA baseball caps by the way). On Tuesday evening I had the privilege of chairing the Economic ProsperityContinue reading “Making Our River Great Again”
Better Support for Families
Last night was my second committee of the week: Children, Education and Skills. There were some really substantive issues on the agenda, which can be viewed here. Each item on the agenda could have been a meeting in its own right. There was a really detailed presentation by our Director of Public Health highlighting healthContinue reading “Better Support for Families”
Economic Prosperity
This evening saw the (informal) re-commencement of sub-committees, following a short break for the local elections. I currently sit on four sub-committees: Economic Prosperity, Children, Education & Skills, Housing, and the Health & Wellbeing Board (which technically isn’t a sub-committee, but…) Tonight was the Economic Prosperity sub-committee, which considers all aspects of the economic lifeContinue reading “Economic Prosperity”
Wilson’s Weekly 