Conservative administration “reveals its hand” in first detailed Budget update – Care required!
Since May 2018, there have been a number of reports presented to the Cabinet about gaps in the Council budget: 2018 / 19 – £21m gap ( £12m caused by the overspend […]
Creative Scrutiny Board recommendations on Special Educational Needs summarily dismissed by Cabinet.
At the Executive Scrutiny Board last night ( 9th October), one of the many subjects on the agenda was “Improving Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Provision in Derby”. A comprehensive document which […]
Sinfin Incinerator : the pressure to terminate the contract mounts! Full facts will be available on 19th October…
The Council’s cross-party Executive Scrutiny Board robustly challenged the Council Cabinet’s position on the termination of the Sinfin Incincerator ( to be formally presented on the 10th October) “To defer any decision […]
70%+ don’t support Special Educational Needs proposals, resulting in little change to school places. What was the point?
In November 2017 the Council issued a consultation document on the strategy for Special Education Needs (SEN) children. Whilst the plan maintained annual funding, which is substantial at £55m pa, there were […]
Karen Brownhill, communication practitioner at St Giles School, shortlisted for a national special educational needs award
PRESS RELEASE A Derby woman is putting on her glad rags and heading to London for a glitzy awards ceremony, after being shortlisted for a national special educational needs award. Karen Brownhill, […]
Libraries Strategy ; the floundering, failing policy and the forgotten Council staff who continue to wait for their future.
The Council’s Libraries Strategy has run aground! Despite overly positive rhetoric from Council Officers about how well the Libraries project is doing, the evidence does not bear this out at all. At […]
Derby Feste returns ; Fun, dance, acrobatics…and lots of colour
Sinfin Incinerator termination option : Victory for democracy and common sense
At last night’s Full Council meeting 2 motions were tabled, by Labour and UKIP, which called on the Council Cabinet to terminate the contract with Resource Recovery Solutions. the contractor for the […]
Sinfin Incinerator : The Conservative Council fail to seize the opportunity in the 1st major public test of the administration.
The latest opportunity to terminate the Sinfin Incinerator contract was defined, to the exact date ( 30 September 2018), nearly 9 years ago. It was not a surprise to anyone. The position […]
Labour leader Cllr Lisa Eldret hears of rats, flies, vile smells, noise, respiratory conditions, toxic emissions…around the Sinfin Incinerator plant.
As I reported last week in the article “Council has ‘right to terminate’ Sinfin ‘Incinerator’ contract on 1 October 2018. Time to be decisive!” the moment is fast approaching when Derby City Council […]
A52: There were clear warning signs of a massive overspend in January 2018. Why didn’t Council Officers spot it?
Of the total £14.9m budget for the A52 Improvement project, £9m was allocated for the main construction works, contracted to Galliford Try. Galliford was appointed in October 2017 with a view to […]
Council has ‘right to terminate’ Sinfin ‘Incinerator’ contract on 1 October 2018. Time to be decisive!
By the end of this month, the contractor for the Sinfin Incinerator (Sinfin Lane), Resource Receovery Solutions (Derbyshire) Ltd (RRS) will have failed to have secured the Completion Certificate for the plant. […]
A52 ‘mess’; Cabinet report implies widespread incompetence leading to cost overruns and slippages
A report to be presented to the Cabinet next week on the A52 cost overrun and delays, makes enlightening reading. It is only an interim report, despite the expectation that, after 3 […]
One to watch! : Council Tax Support is not part of Universal Credit.
Universal Credit Full Service came into operation, in Derby from 11th July 2018 and is applicable, initially, to those making new claims, or changing circumstances. The remainder will be migrated across shortly […]
Derby’s re-established Citizens Advice Bureau – helping thousands of people across the City
2 years ago, Derby City Council cut the grants to local charities to zero. This left many organisations in the voluntary sector in a very precarious situation, including the Citizens Advice Bureau […]
Future of ‘The Hairy Dog’ depends on the Magistrates’ Court appeal
The proceedings against The Hairy Dog resulted from an “Application for a Review of the Premises Licence” under the Licensing Act 2003; this was brought by a Senior Environmental Health Officer employed […]
Council forecast £21m hit to finances this year (2018/19) – what happened to the ‘balanced budget’?
In January 2018, the previous Labour administration presented to Full Council a “balanced budget” for 2018/19, and 2019/20. This meant that in-year expenditure on all services, would be covered by available Government/Council […]
Senior Officers’ proposal to reduce beds in Council Children’s Homes – does not bear Scrutiny!
Council Officers are proposing a reconfiguration of the service provision for Derby City Council Children’s Homes. This will be presented to Cabinet today and was subject to a cross-Party Executive Scrutiny Board […]
Ex-Cllr Banwait withdraws complaint against Derby News – the facts speak for themselves.
On 19th June, Ranjit Banwait contacted IMPRESS ( press regulator) formally complaining about the article I’d written on 25th May – “Ranjit Banwait takes legal proceedings to over-turn election result” The article […]
Council’s new Delivery Plan more “vague and woolly” than “open and transparent”
Next week’s Cabinet meeting will receive the 2017/18 Derby City Council “Annual Performance Results” which will declare that 94% of the Council pledges were either “completed or ‘on track’” in that year. […]
