When a member of the public asks a question in a Full Council Meeting, it is to get some sense of progress on an issue. It should be a forum whereby the […]
The “accessible” Cllr Banwait: 10 months, 2 complaints, 1 Council question, and a pointless 14 minute meeting….and still no action for a disabled man.
Indian Community Centre leads on Cancer Awareness for the elderly.
Health awareness is about community, it’s about people being encouraged and educated by peers, in culturally appropriate ways, from people they trust. Rarely does it happen from leaflets lying on a desk, […]
No transparency over use of Council’s £2.2m saving. Why not in the public interest?
As I reported earlier this week the Council saved £2.2m in it’s Revenue Budget in 2015/16. This was confirmed in the Council Cabinet papers presented at the meeting on 13th July 2016 […]
Derby City Council ignore Parents in new Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) proposal.
Derby City Council Cabinet will be discussing on Wednesday 13th July a proposal to change the administration of the Schools Top-Up Funding for the education of children with SEND. The report being […]
Ex-Mayor Cllr Paul Pegg wastes Police time trying to intimidate Derby News
Perhaps Cllr Pegg thinks that involving 5 different Police officers, including an Inspector, a Sergeant making a home visit, was a price worth paying to try and “intimidate” me. A couple of […]
Tackling Homelessness and helping the NHS with Healthy Futures.
In a previous article I wrote that, homelessness is rarely fully solved by just finding someone a place to live. It may solve the immediate practical issue but it doesn’t address the […]
The Culture of Derby City Council must change! Cllr Banwait?
On 16th June 2016 Grant Thornton issued a damning report on the conduct of the Council in the 2012-2015 period highlighting in particular, poor practice in areas of governance, as well as […]
£60,000 for not helping the real Rough Sleepers – is that value for money?
The City pays £60,000 to an external organisation to ensure that no one sleeps on the streets of Derby. So why do we have Rough Sleepers? Every Council in the UK is […]
Parents shout “Banwait Out” in support of Teaching Assistants pay dispute
For the second time in one week, and with more parents involved , including a number of Teaching Assistants, they collected in the Council Offices and protested against the pay cuts for […]
Why is Banwait lying about the Teaching Assistant/Support Staff pay dispute?
I reported previously that Parents of children affected by the Teaching Assistant / Support Staff strike are becoming more vocal and active. A number I have spoken to have phoned and emailed […]
Parents protest in Council House in support of Teaching Assistants over pay dispute
Today was the start of the lunchtime strikes by the Teaching Assistants and School Support staff. This left many parents, especially those with severely disabled children, in a real practical dilemma. The […]
Silk Mill March, Rally and People’s Festival 2016 – Remembering the “lock out”
In 1833 the employees of the Silk Mill were famously united in opposition to the forced pay-cuts to the workers of the Mill. The industrial unrest, which was one of the earliest […]
Why is Derby Labour Party Political Agent involved in confidential Council meetings?
You might wonder why James Shires, the Derby Labour Party Political Agent attends confidential Council meetings? He has not been elected by the people, he is not an employee, he is a […]
STRIKE! Teaching Assistants/Support staff fighting for fairness
At 10.29am there was a handful of us standing on the Council House steps – waiting with anticipation, seeing the odd Councillor scuttle in through the main doors. And then, like the […]
Teaching Support Staff Strike : Perhaps the Council should start listening to the Parents!
Parents are worried, angry, upset, anxious and are now speaking out. Yes, they will be disrupted by the strike action, but they are behind the TAs, and other school support staff, and […]
Fly infestation public meeting: no apologies just contempt
Article on the organisations involved Last night a packed Lonny Wilsoncroft Centre in the New Zealand area of Derby waited with some expectation of news about the future of the terrible flies problem […]
A Muslim family’s view of Ramadan; the Islamic month of fasting.
What is Ramadan? What does it mean, and what happens during the month? For many of us outside of the Muslim faith it can be a bit of a mystery. Rather than […]
Teaching Assistants dismissed, and forced by Derby City Council to “accept” Pay cuts
Last night, all of the Teaching Assistants (TAs) in Derby who had not already accepted Derby City Council’s new Terms and Conditions were dismissed. This resulted from the Council’s inability to negotiate […]
Teaching Assistant Pay Cuts : Council’s report concludes it fails the Equality test. Why was it implemented?
After delaying the original draconian Derby City Council decision, by 6 months, to cut the pay of Teaching Support staff by 25%, the day of change has finally arrived. Those who have […]
Mackworth Fly infestation : convenient confusion over who’s to blame?
A casual reading of this news story through the Derby Telegraph articles poses many questions about why there seems to be so many organisations involved, who own’s who, and why is there […]
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