At a Library briefing this morning, Claire Davenport, Director of Leisure and Culture for Derby City Council provided answers to questions from Derby News that undermined the urgency and timing of the publicised […]
Council Officer blows apart financial plan for Libraries review
Teaching Assistant dispute; Council fails on Agreement and re-ignites dispute. Where did it go wrong?
In March 2017, UNISON recommended that the School Support Staff/Teaching Assistants should accept the Council’s latest offer. This was on the basis that it was substantially improved on anything that had been […]
Chris Williamson’s “phishing” for pre-election Solloway “smear” campaign
Further to Pauline Latham’s comment in the House of Commons yesterday, there is more to Chris Williamson’s election ‘smear’ campaign against Amanda Solloway. On June 6 ( 2 days prior to the […]
£130,000 “black hole” the Council hasn’t declared to prospective Library Volunteers.
On September 4th, the Council released detailed packs of information to help any prospective group, planning to volunteer to run a library, to understand its potential costs. On closer examination, it is […]
No “proper arrangements” to secure “value for money” or “make informed decisions”
A very damning conclusion to the Auditor’s report on the 2015/16 Statement of Accounts. A review of the full report is being undertaken and further issues will be reported on in due […]
Mental health therapy, and personal development, assisted by…horses!
The notion that horses can help a person overcome their psychological or mental health problems is intriguing; that they could assist with team building and leadership training even more so. Sarah Stephens […]
Derbyshire Pride 2017 – marks 50 years since partial decriminalisation of homosexuality
The day started with a parade from St Peter’s Church to Curzon Street where there will be a full day of events. The acts include XFactor’s Freddy Parker, Cleo Higgins from the Voice, […]
Council is now admitting that Pledges are failing against Plan
As previously reported in Derby News, the Council’s Pledges are starting to creak, and a number have already failed against their commitment. Finally, the Council is admitting this in their Cabinet report […]
Teaching Assistant dispute resolution could be undermined by Council’s summer of silence
1st September 2017 was the committed date for the new School Support staff contracts to be in place – the Council has not been speaking to UNISON, nothing has been agreed! The […]
An enduring performance ; the Art of being Here.. and Hear.
Pierce Starre’s daily 7 hour silent, static performance at the Divine Locale Art festival, might seem like a side-show curiousity, but the underlying ideas are thoughtful and profound. Pierce was born into […]
5 weeks slip to Library Review plan, already! Lack of interest? Or people have a social conscience?
The original racy programme to push through the conversions of 10 libraries into Community Managed Libraries before the end of 2017 is failing already. Is the public seeing through this proposal? Is […]
Councillor’s legal “booby trap” over Libraries proposals.
For legal reasons, Councillors have to tread very carefully in how they get involved in the proposals to convert 10 Council run libraries into Community managed Libraries. Previous articles and background to […]
Council releases personal data on 324 vulnerable children without parental consent
Over a 1000 children in Derby have Special Educational Needs (SEN). A document is compiled by Derby City Council which specifies the nature of their needs, and the provisions that will be […]
Original Performance Art asks many questions at The Spot – including from the Police
As part of the Divine Locale Art Festival, funded by a Derby News Community Grant, Jade Blackwood performed her latest piece of Artwork in public, at The Spot. It is currently “Untitled”, […]
Divine Locale presents the City’s only graduate-led Art festival – funded by Derby News
Starting this Friday, 18th August, is Derby’s only grassroots, graduate-led Art festival directed by young artists. It is being promoted by Divine Locale, which was co-founded by Jennifer Birch and Jade Foster […]
Open Letter to Cllr Russell: Plan continuing to fail Special Educational Needs children
Open Letter to Cllr Russell – Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, copied to all other 50 Councillors Dear Cllr Russell You will recall that just after the Council Cabinet on 12th […]
Libraries Proposal : the “small print” that volunteers should read carefully
The Libraries Proposal to create Community Managed Libraries (CMLs) contains some important small print that all Volunteer groups should be aware of before they sign up. The default position is that each […]
Aspire Wrestling: No gimmicks when it comes to mental health!
Aspire Wrestling in Derwent/Chaddesden is a “unique place that changes everyone’s life for the better” says Paul Malen, professional wrestler and the club’s full-time trainer. Established in April 2016 by Rob Shade, […]
Derby City Council are, again, targetting low-paid women!
The business plan assumes that all existing Libraries staff will be made redundant across the 10 locations. These are: Allenton, Allestree, Blagreaves, Chaddesden, Chellaston, Derwent, Sinfin, Mackworth, Oakwood, Spondon The numbers of […]
Cllr Bolton “economical with truth” over failed Pledge on Children’s Homes.
In May 2017, Derby News reported that Cllr Bolton had failed her Pledge with respect to Children’s Homes. This was referred to as “Fake News” by Cllr Banwait in the June 2017 […]
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