The Leader's blog

Delivering on my promise to improve the lives of people in Trafford

It’s been almost six weeks since I became Council Leader and I have to say the time has flown by with so much going on. When I started the job I said making sure children in Trafford have the best start possible in life is one of my main priorities so you can imagine how pleased I was with the recent Ofsted report.

It found an overall improvement in the quality of social work in the borough. It means we are no longer rated ‘inadequate’ which is an important milestone on our improvement journey.

I would like to thank our staff and partners who have worked so hard to improve the service we offer young people and their families. We all recognise there is more work to be done but we are moving in the right direction, so well done to all involved.

We have set our budget for the next financial year and this has been no mean feat given the financial challenges we face. Years of funding cuts by central government plus dealing with the Covid pandemic and the rise in inflation means we have to plug a £25m gap in our finances.

However despite the challenges we have faced, our budget will see millions of pounds invested in our roads, parks, children’s and adults services, together with leisure facilities and our town centres.

As a council our work and the services we provide touch so many people throughout their lives and for us to function properly we need to be financed properly. That’s why we will continue to campaign for a fairer deal for councils in similar positions to us. Find out more about our budget.

Talking of fairer funding, we are backing a campaign for more low income families to take up a vital food benefit and for it to be increased to cover the rise in the cost of living.

The national Healthy Start scheme assists parents, carers and pregnant women to pay for milk, formula, fruit and vegetables. However, changes in the way it is distributed mean not everyone who should benefit from it, is doing so, and we want to change that. Find out more about the campaign.

Helping to improve the health and wellbeing of residents is one of our key aims as a council and that’s why I am pleased to see the unveiling of exciting plans for the multi-million pound refurbishment of Stretford Leisure Centre. This will be a real boost for the area.

Finally, I must thank everyone who has wished me well in my new role, your positive messages mean a lot to me. I am determined Trafford Council under my leadership will continue to improve the lives of people who live and work in this great borough