Last weekend we saw the return of the Little Cheese festival to Caerphilly town centre.

This fantastic event has gathered momentum over the last two years, and we welcomed an impressive 17,737 visitors to the town, a significant increase from the previous year.

Visitor feedback has been very positive, and the business community welcomed the increased footfall to the town.

Over the summer, our learners also celebrated the next step on their learning journey as they collected their GCSE and A-level results. I would like to extend a huge congratulations to those learners for their hard work and dedication during the post covid transition to exam-based qualifications.

We also celebrated some fantastic Estyn results across our community of schools. Teachers, staff and pupils were applauded for their teaching and learning practices and the nurturing environments we strive to provide across the county borough.

The return to the classrooms has also seen the second phase of the Universal Free School Meals roll out to all primary school pupils.

I am pleased to say that we are a leading authority in Wales for the implementation of this scheme. I feel this is particularly important as we approach the coming winter months and families begin to feel the pinch of rising costs.

I am also pleased that this weekend on Sunday, September 10, we will be hosting the final stage of the Tour of Britain, here in the county borough.

This world-class sporting event will be broadcast on live television (ITV4) – showcasing the community spirit and the magnificent landscapes that our county borough has to offer.

Riders will enter the county borough via Nelson, pass through Llanbradach and complete two laps of Caerphilly Mountain before crossing the finish line in front of the iconic castle.

This is another exciting opportunity to showcase Caerphilly as a great place to live, work and visit.