6 Senior figures from two of Derby’s wealthiest charities visited India in October last year to donate £7,500 worth of wheelchairs and handbikes to local disabled people. The party was led by Amo Raju, the ex-CEO of Disability Direct and Director of a new company called  Poverty 2 Possibility CIC (P2P); its objective is to support people in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Also on the Board of P2P is Louise Moss (current CEO of Disability Direct since October 2024, and Management Consultant to Derventio Housing) and Raj Johal (Manager of Disability Direct subsidiary – Blue Sky Brokers).

Louise Moss’s husband, David Moss, is the Chairman of Disability Direct and has recently become a Director of Derventio Housing Trust CIC . David Moss is a Financial Advisor and erstwhile business partner of Sarah Hernandez, the Managing Director of Derventio Housing.  They were joint directors of SIDR Properties Ltd in April 2005; at the time,both of them declared their “usual residential address” as Hernandez’s current home address.

The 6th member of the India party, Karan Johal, has been a long term employee, and ex-Director, of Derventio Housing .

Derventio Housing Trust has been the subject of many Derby News articles. It has a simple business model which exploits unrestricted housing benefits paid to supported vulnerable people; anecdotal evidence suggests that the personal support that justifies the enhanced housing benefits claimed, is more superficial than formally declared.

With turnover now approaching £10m in the year to 31/3/24, Derventio has healthy cash reserves of £1.2m.

Disability Direct has a significant trading arm that supplies payroll and employment services to disabled people receiving public money through Derby City Council. It has a turnover of £2.8m and has amassed just over £1m in cash and short term debtors . It holds an eye-watering £15m of service users’ public money in a separate bank account.

Comment

Aesop is quoted as saying that “a man is known by the company he keeps”.

Derby News has called for Derventio Housing to be investigated on a number of occasions.

Derventio Housing: should be publicly investigated, not given awards

Derventio Housing often bathes in the reflected public glow of  helping vulnerable homeless people however it is not an altruistic endeavour. The seniors of Derventio Housing benefit handsomely from the “industrialisation” of the enhanced housing benefit opportunities and the Council’s lethargic auditing of claims on the public purse. The top 3 directors earn in excess of £90k each.

Disability Direct has cornered the market in providing  paid employment services. It is a lucrative business and their income has more than doubled in the last 2 years. Whilst alternatives exist to Disability Direct; it is reported that some people who receive a personal budget are “encouraged” by Derby City Council to use Disability Direct in preference to others.

It is stated that the people in the India party paid their own expenses albeit their personal wealth has been in part derived from public money.

Disability Direct’s Governing document and entry on the Charity Commission website states clearly that it “Shall be to provide relief for Disabled people in Derby and in the surrounding regions”; it cannot operate outside of that area.

Derventio Housing was established as a Community Interest Company (CIC); it benefits from that status on the basis that it serves the “stakeholder group” which is its residents. It is a curious connection between Derventio Housing and Disability Direct and one that is not obviously driven by necessity or synergy. Given that worthy activities of a charitable nature don’t need to be publicised, gratuitously, it begs the question whether this whole venture is simply  “Charity Washing” for public relations purposes.