As Mayor, Ben is accountable to and represents almost 700,000 people across all five boroughs in the Tees Valley. Ben acts as Chairman of the Tees Valley Combined Authority TVCA the body that drives economic growth and job creation in the area. His Cabinet is made up of the Leaders of Middlesbrough, Redcar Cleveland, Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, and Hartlepool borough councils.

The job of the Mayor ranges from setting the budget and priorities for economic development, transport, infrastructure and skills, to acting as an ambassador for our region to attract inward investment. The TVCA has an Investment Plan totalling 464 million up until 2021. This will be spent on local priorities, determined by local elected leaders - including the Mayor.

Ben is also the Chairman of the South Tees Development Corporation, the first Mayoral Development Corporation outside of Greater London. Covering a 4,500 acre site in Redcar, the Development Corporation has significant powers and finances available to kick-start economic development. Locally-led from Tees Valley, the Development Corporation Board has published a masterplan which aims to create 20,000 jobs over the next 25 years, adding 1 billion per annum to the local economy.