I am always deeply proud to attend our city’s poignant Remembrance events and it was lovely to see huge turnouts this week.
I want to place on record my thanks to our Armed Forces Champion, Cllr. Jason McNally, whose commitment and dedication know no bounds. His legacy of service is so commendable, and I’m so proud to call him a friend and colleague.
Last week I had the privilege of meeting some of the best of our city – and our country in fact – following the awful incident on board the LNER train on 1 November.
We hosted Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP, in the Mayor’s Parlour where she met with the driver of the train, Andrew Johnson, signaller Rob Pape and officers from the British Transport Police.
It was a chance for the Secretary of State and others in the room, including MP Andrew Pakes, Mayor of Peterborough Councillor Judy Fox and I to say thank you for the bravery and incredible thinking under extreme pressure displayed by LNER staff and police officers from Cambridgeshire Constabulary and the British Transport Police.
I have also written to Samir Zitouni, the LNER staff member who remains in intensive care, to express my thanks and admiration for his bravery in protecting other passengers.
We must now look at how to prevent such incidents from happening. I have written to the Police and Crime Commissioner, Darryl Preston, to ask for a meeting about knife crime in the city and how we can work together to ensure we are doing all we can to remove knives from our streets and to educate about the dangers.
I will also be speaking to colleagues at CPFT about mental health support in the city.
I’m delighted that the council has been awarded just over £723,000 from the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to rollout a Local Youth Transformation Pilot locally.
This will see us work with partners to help deliver a high-quality out-of-school offer and invest in impactful local youth services. We have already identified key priority areas which can be enhanced including access for young people in rural areas and a young person-led website.
Now we will work to develop a local youth offer which addresses the needs of young people in Peterborough - so watch this space!
On a similar subject, I was delighted to attend the opening of the Peterborough Youth Hub last week.
This fantastic new facility at the Weston Homes Stadium has been opened by the Combined Authority who welcomed dignitaries including the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP to its launch event.
The hub is a welcoming space for 16-24 year-olds to get career advice and CV support, skills training and job opportunities, as well as wellbeing guidance.
My thanks to everyone involved in launching this positive and much-needed venture which will help many young people across the city.
I was also privileged to attend and speak at the Gladca AGM last week – an organisation which has served the community brilliantly for 53 years.
The ongoing cost of living crisis was among several topics discussed at the event. Last week we opened a new school uniform store in the Queensgate Centre and during my speech at the AGM I highlighted the positive effect this will have for families.
The store offers parents and students the chance to take away shirts, blouses, blazers, trousers and more, free of charge. Whether you want to swap, donate or take uniform, this community-led initiative is here to help, so why not pay it a visit?