I am married with three grown-up children and five grandchildren and have lived in Crook for the last 17 years. In Crook, there are many people that are trying hard to bring up their families but are constantly meeting hurdles that they must overcome. This may be low income, lack of employment or low-paid employment, poor physical or mental health, or living in accommodation that does not give them any security. As a Labour Party Candidate, addressing inequality must be the number one priority. Young people and families are being greatly hit economically by COVID 19 and we must ensure that they have access to financial advice, secure housing options, good education and training and employment. All these issues require people and organisations to work in partnership to solve them and a key partner is the voluntary and community sector as it brings people together at a grassroots level. Here in Crook, I have been a public representative on the Area Action Partnership for 4 years and I have worked to support local groups to network and access resources as chair of the Health and Well-Being Group and Older Persons Task group.