Mayor's Question Time

Have your chance to quiz the Tees Valley Mayor in person at the latest Mayor’s Question Time.

Chaired by an independent journalist, attendees will be given the opportunity to ask questions directly to Mayor Ben Houchen.

It will take place on 18 March from 7pm – 8.30pm at Darlington Mowden Park, Darlington, DL2 1DL. Doors will be open from 6:30pm for a 7pm start.

This is a free event, but attendees will need to sign up for a ticket to order to gain admission.

The Mayor will hold two in-person Q&A events each year, with locations rotating across the Tees Valley – so watch out for future events near you.

The introduction of the Mayor’s Question Time events brings Tees Valley Combined Authority in line with several other Combined Authorities, which already hold similar events – including Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and West Midlands.

Terms and Conditions:

The Tees Valley Mayor has committed to two in-person events per calendar year so members of the public can directly ask them questions. Details were presented at the March 2025 Cabinet here: 7-Mayors-Question-Time-28.03.25-1.pdf

1. The Mayoral Question sessions will be chaired by an independent journalist who will question the Mayor by selecting questions submitted by members of the audience.
   
   2. Members of the public wishing to attend a scheduled session must apply for a ticket through the published Eventbrite event. For security, a maximum of four tickets per order is permitted, and the names of each person attending must be provided. You must have a ticket to attend the event. Attendees must provide a valid photo ID matching the name provided with the ticket booking. Anyone without a ticket and photo ID may be denied access.
   
   3. To ensure fairness to all residents of the Tees Valley, we will monitor attendance and prioritise new participants at future events, should there be a significant volume of tickets requested.

Behaviour at Public Mayoral Question Time

4. Attendees of the event are expected to be respectful of all attendees at the event, however, they are specifically asked to;

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ i) Not interrupt or ‘heckle’ during the proceedings of the event;
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ii) Not engage in disrespectful, interrupting, or harmful behaviour that affects the ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ running of the event.

5. Should any member of the audience engage in the behaviours noted above, they may be asked to leave the event.

Expectations

We want this to be an enjoyable experience for everyone who comes and so there are a few things that we think are important:

• The journalist who is hosting the event is the Chairperson. This means that they manage the questions and makes sure the people asking questions get a comprehensive response. They may also choose to move the conversation on to a new topic.
• We cover a range of questions and subject areas – as everyone has different interests and wants to hear about different things.
• People are respectful and let other audience members talk and contribute, being mindful not to control the conversation.

To be able to do this, we ask that people:

• Ask only one question
• Stay on the topic that is being discussed at that particular time
• Keep questions concise and to the point

On the night of the event, we want to ensure that people get to ask their questions to the Mayor, but abusive behaviour, including towards the host, staff or other audience members will not be tolerated.

Due to the number of questions that are submitted and the time of the event, we are unlikely to be able to answer all questions but will try and cover a range of topics.