Since initial publication of this article, Impress issued a public statement that concluded that a procedural irregularity at IMPRESS, “gave rise to false impressions for both parties as to the final outcome […]
Complaint : “Vanessa Boon: behind the public facade”
Derby City Council’s Home to School Transport contract – independent audit needed.
A previous Derby News article highlighted some issues around the award of the Home to School Transport contract (for children with Special Educational Needs) to Nottingham Special Transport Ltd (NST) Would you […]
Derby City Council’s Freedom of Information process – failing and inefficient
Anyone can contact the Council and invoke the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the answer to most questions about the organisation. It is duty bound to respond within 20 working days […]
Derby’s first “Playzone” opens in Normanton Park
Today the first “Playzone” in Normanton Park was opened to the public. It was funded by £180,000 from the Football Foundation, £25,000 from Derby City Council and £35,000 from Sporting Communities CIC […]
Can you help by “Standing with Sharon”?
Link to “Standing with Sharon” GoFundMe page (more details here) Many people in Derby know and love Sharon Sewell – considerably more benefitted from her tireless work. Those of us who know […]
Derbyshire County Council – on the verge of going bust!
The Director of Finance’s statement in Derbyshire County Council’s “Revenue Budget Report 2024-25″said: “The Council is required by law to set a balanced budget for the upcoming financial year. This balanced budget […]
Council’s Darcie/Ali digital talker “deflects” 42% of callers with questionable answers
Derby City Council is claiming £200,000 of annual savings following the introduction of the “AI-Digital Talkers” (Darcie and Ali). This saving results from reduced Agency worker capacity equivalent to 4 full time […]
Cllr Poulter’s Executive Scrutiny Board fails to scrutinse Council’s Budget
The Budget is one of the few major decisions voted on by all Councillors. It sets out the Council’s plan for delivering services and the means by which it will raise the […]
Alderwasley Special Needs School bankrolled by Sheikh of Qatar
Of the 45,000 children in school in Derby, 3300 have Special Educational Needs (SEN) subject to an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). On average those children with an EHCP, in a […]
Derby City Council needs a few “disruptors” to improve lazy financial planning.
A casual observer of Derby City Council might be confused about the state of its finances. Just 2 years ago, the Council was predicting a £10m deficit on £272m income for 2024/25. Now […]
Council dithers over transparency of the Home to School bus contract.
In October 2023 Derby News published an article raising questions about the new Home to School Transport transport contract for vulnerable children. Would you put your vulnerable child into an unmarked minibus? […]
Jericho House Drug Treatment project play: Funny, Emotional and Inspiring
Derby News is a proud supporter of the Jericho House Drug Treatment Project which does great work with men recovering from drug addiction including supporting their families. Previous articles: Jericho House (for […]
Vanessa Boon: behind the public facade
On 26 November 2023 a complaint was made to IMPRESS, by Vanessa Boon, about the Derby News article “Vanessa Boon: behind the public façade” Derby News provided a comprehensive and detailed response […]
Derby City White Ribbon Day campaign 2023: Men & boys commit to end violence against women and girls.
Article by Michelle Butler – Youth Alliance Coordinator ( Community Action – Derby) A group of 8 male students from across different secondary schools in Derby have come together to create a […]
Derby Homes wastes public money on duplicated Derventio Housing “project”.
Previous articles on Derventio Housing Trust highlighted the extent to which this “Community Interest Company” (CIC) generated significant amounts of surplus cash, and funded highly paid directors/managers, on the back of claiming […]
Derby City Council issue defensive “bulletin” on new school minibus contract.
Following last week’s Derby News article “Would you put your vulnerable child into an unmarked minibus? Derby City Council expects you to!”, Derby City Council’s Home to School Travel service issued a […]
Would you put your vulnerable child into an unmarked minibus? Derby City Council expects you to!
As part of a cost saving exercise Derby City Council has awarded a contract to Nottingham Specialist Transport Ltd to provide all of the Home to School transport service for children with […]
20,000 households to be taken to court over non-payment of Council Tax.
In the current financal year ( 2023/24), Derby City Council plans on taking 1 in 5 of the City’s households to Court for non-payment of Council Tax. This is around a 40% […]
Derby Feste 2023
Derby City Council is “cash rich” despite owing £100m suggests Chief Executive Paul Simpson.
Derby City Council’s Chief Executive, Paul Simpson, stated at the Cabinet Meeting on 12th September 2023,: “The council is not cash-poor. We are resource-poor in the sense that it is our revenue […]
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