Obtained under Freedom of Information – this is the full list of all expenses claimed in 2015. I must confess, I was expecting it to be a longer list, and to be […]
Derby City Councillor’s 2015 expenses – Surprising!?
Derby City Council May 2016 – Seat statistics; Where’s the finishing line?
Which seats are up for re-election? What is the state of each party? Which seats have all new candidates? A simple chart summarising the position at the moment with Labour having 29 […]
Council to spend £6m on a “Dithering Differently” programme.
Just over 3 years ago, when the Council presented the budget for 2013/14 – it told the people of Derby it needed to save £62m over the following 3 years. At that […]
Women’s Work (Lyndsey’s Blog) : Sex work outreach – view of life on the streets
Women’s Work’s street sex work outreach team provide a vital service, and a unique insight into the lives of the women who find themselves drawn into these difficult circumstances. Lyndsey Rook, is […]
Faith Hope Enterprise: Helping the whole homeless person
“It’s that kind of relationship that really helps people change, and they know we care about them, not that we’re simply doing our job. Some of the social activities are helping people […]
Project Touchdown : the challenge of sleeping rough on the streets
Cold, cold , and cold again. Brain numbed by a disturbed night’s sleep, each 15 minutes punctuated by the chiming of the bells, reminding you that it’s cold. A mind blurred, and […]
Derby City Council’s Budget con-trick. Where did the £70m go?
In October 2014 the Council reported that £69m cuts needed to be made in the 3 years following 2014/15. 2015/16 – £22m ; 2016/17 – £24m ; 2017/18 – £23m – due […]
Myth of the Council’s “statutory service” rhetoric
Over the last few months the Council leadership has repeated the position that the Tory budget cuts have meant that, now, only statutory services can be supplied, and that all non-statutory activities […]
Ken: Disabled and trapped by Council Cuts, now sees hope.
“I would say I was existing. I was clean, I was fed, I was put to bed….so, just fed and watered. I didn’t feel like a complete human being….I didn’t feel complete.” […]
“Yes to Life” for Cancer on a “Road Less Travelled”
Inspired by the loss of his father to cancer, Simon Jones (aka Praxis), produced an album, “A Road Less Travelled”, of music, spoken word, and hip-hop, from some of the finest talent […]
Stand Up to Racism : London 2016
In addition to the core messages around racism, and #BlackLivesMatter the event this year roundly embraced and supported the perspective of “Refugees are Welcome”. People have been disturbed by the scenes in […]
Council’s incompetence costs Derby Tax payers £2.8m by axing Citizens Advice Bureau
This chart, based on an independent examination by the Treasury, concluded that the £200,000 paid by Derby City Council to the Citizens Advice Bureau, would save £3 million elsewhere in the Council […]
Council pays itself an extra £6m whilst axing Voluntary Sector Grants and Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
Cllr Banwait tells us that the Council’s finances have been destroyed by the Tory Government and that the 100% cuts to the Voluntary Sector Grants, Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB), as well as […]
Housing Benefit changes could result in more street homelessness in Derby.
All Homeless people need help; the most vulnerable need active, long-term support, to keep them safe, and off the streets. In a previous article, “The Homelessness Paradox; It’s not just a housing […]
Cllr Rawson reveals Labour Group’s cynical political priority
Anyone who has anything more than a passing interest in the behaviour of the Derby City Council Labour Leadership will be well aware of the constant politicking taken in every nook and […]
International Women’s Day 2016 : Celebration Festival
For the past few years a team of Volunteers, led by Vanessa Boon, have put on an International Women’s Day event in the Centre of Derby. Whilst there are many important messages […]
I absolutely agree with Councillor Banwait….
I absolutely agree with Councillor Banwait when he criticised the Tory Councillors for proposing a motion at this evening’s Council meeting to ‘Save Moorways’. I totally agree that this gave the campaigners, […]
11 months later: JET still can’t justify 2nd payment from Police &CC
In my article last October, titled “JET: Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) waste £11000 of public money on a fruitless contract” I highlighted how the PCC was refusing to pay the 2nd […]
Voluntary Sector Grants: Council confirms no facts were used in making decision
In a previous article I questioned whether the Council had full knowledge of the facts in support of their decision to cut Voluntary, Community and Faith (VCF) Grants. The first of my […]
The Homelessness Paradox; It’s not just a housing shortage.
Home-lessness is often confused with House-lessness, and the belief that to be homeless means that someone therefore lives on the street. This is part of the paradox. There are very few true […]
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