Cnservative County Councillors Frances Nicholson and Linda Vijeh joined SCC Youth Worker Catherine Newberry, and members of Somerset's In Care Council, for an event organised by the National Childrens' Bureau in Bristol recently.
Along with representatives from 6 other local authorities across the South West, they spent the day sharing information and discussing ways in which the County Council can progress its Corporate Parent role for the 500 children in care across Somerset.
Linda Vijeh, the cabinet support member for children and families, who along with Frances Nicholson, is a member of the Corporate Parent Board, was keen to ensure that everything is done to ensure a safe and supportive environment for these youngsters.
'Since becoming a County Councillor, and with a particular interest in the welfare of children, I have been delighted at the opportunity to engage with them by becoming involved in the activities of the Somerset in Care Council members. I particularly enjoy participating in the monthly meetings and being able to pass on my skills in the kitchen, as some of the older ones get ready for the all important, but scary, transition into independent adulthood.
Under Catherine's leadership the group goes from strength to strength, where at last they feel that they have a real say over their lives. Events like this enable us to see what others are doing, and already I have been invited to go to Wiltshire to help them develop their work on cooking skills.'