My week started with a visit to Stretford Public Hall to join a Neighbourhood Network Event covering the north and west of Trafford.  It was a session organised by our local health partners and it provided an opportunity to hear about some of the successful initiatives in the Borough.  Over the course of the afternoon, I enjoyed hearing about some positive work around cancer awareness and screening.  I also heard about the efforts made by our Trafford Welfare Rights officers and partners around increasing the uptake of Pension Credit.

Our Welfare Rights Advice officers provide such an important service to people living in the Borough.  I know that some people in Trafford will be feeling worried following national announcements regarding welfare reform proposals earlier this week.  This will be a very difficult and uncertain time and I wanted to make sure residents are aware of our Welfare Rights Service, the Advice Hubs in Sale and Stretford, our commitment to delivering the Trafford Poverty Strategy and our commitment to making Greater Manchester Live Well work for our residents in Trafford and the wider area.

On Monday evening I chaired a meeting of the Executive Committee.  One of the highlights of the meeting was an item on UK Shared Prosperity Fund for 2025/26.  This grant funding will be used to support some valuable initiatives across the Borough.  These include supporting the good work that takes place in our libraries, supporting our cultural strategy, community job clubs, a town and district centre shop improvement grant scheme, and improving the lighting at multi-use games areas in Broomwood, Partington and Sale West.  We received an allocation of £1.1m and you can read more here.

On Tuesday I attended a meeting of Trafford Locality Board which focuses on our local health services.  I also joined an online meeting with Andy Burnham and GM Leaders and spent a really informative hour with members of the Council’s Legal team.  The team members support many services across the council and carry out some incredibly important roles.

My highlight of Wednesday was attending a Community Iftar Event at Trafford College.  This was the first time the college have hosted an Iftar and it was a privilege to be part of it.  Around one hundred people, including college students and staff, joined the event and I’m delighted to hear that Trafford College plan to organise more.

I was back at Trafford College on Thursday at their Aspire Restaurant for a Mayor of Trafford fundraiser.  Evening’s at Aspire are always a lovely experience and the students both in the kitchen and front of house are brilliant!  Prior to the meal I joined a panel at Manchester University which was part of their Seeds of Hope and Action Exhibition, reflecting the themes of climate injustice, sustainable environment and intercultural exchange.  I offered contributions from a Greater Manchester perspective and included examples like our Local Nature Recovery Strategy, GM Renew Hub and the ambitions in our new Five Year Environment Plan.

My Friday was set aside for a charity walk in support of HomeStart Trafford, Salford & Wigan.  I’m proud to be a trustee at HomeStart and I also like a good walk.  We started on Friday morning near Pennington Flash in Leigh and I ended up in Broadheath 30km later.  I was really pleased that our Mayor and her Consort, Amy and Sarah, were able to join the final part of the walk through Trafford.  There’s still time to donate to support an excellent cause.

Finally on Saturday I was back on my own patch in Stretford.  In the morning I joined colleagues on the doorstep and in the afternoon I visited a Stretford Stride Pop-up Party.  A lovely community-led event that brought a lot of families to the Mall.