Last night I attended a meeting of the committee of Protect Preston Park, not as a voting member, but because I could help with some of the protocols round presenting their petition to Stockton Council. It's really satisfying to see how residents have taken on the task of organising that group, running fund raising events, raising awareness and preparing for the future preservation of the park. Already they're working with the Park management on their events. In the future I see a very strong Friends of Preston park group emerging and the park & allotments going from strength to strength.
This morning was a chance to meet with ward colleagues and share where we're up to on the issues we've all been dealing with. Email is wonderful but sitting round a table and talking about things is also a big part of being a team.
This afternoon I went to one of the meetings which I enjoy most as a councillor - the Multi-Agency Looked After Partnership - commonly known as MALAP! This is the partnership which tries to ensure that the children and young people in the care of the Local Authority are properly looked after. In law we are their corporate parents - we have taken on the responsibility of parenting them because for some reason their biological parents can't. At every meeting there's something to learn and something to question and try to improve. Today's was a particular challenge - 2 young people from the Children in Care Council came along to the meeting to tell us about what they've been doing and to tell us where we can improve what we do for them as well as how we can find out more about what they are thinking and doing. It was an excellent session and though the meeting lasted almost two and a half hours it certainly never became boring.
Ward surgery followed by a meal at the Waiting Room - a very pleasant end to a busy day.