The brown bin, garden waste, charging scheme, introduced in 2014/15, which was publicised as saving the Council £1m per year, is a sham.! It was based on flawed assumptions, was poorly […]
Council’s ‘Brown Bin tax’ scheme – a £1m failure!
Cllr Banwait to spend ring-fenced Adult Social Care money on electioneering promises.
It is difficult to know which bit of rhetoric about the Council’s finances the public should now believe from Cllr Banwait! The tax payer has been told consistently that the Council has […]
Mad Hatter’s cafe lease: Council shows double-standards with in-House provider
In a few days time, the Mad Hatter’s Cafe on Alvaston Park will close. It will be replaced by a Council run operation using the Derby Live team that run the Orangery […]
Labour Councillors vote against Tory proposal to save libraries.
Last Wednesday’s Full Council meeting was dedicated to a debate over the Labour Group’s proposed budget for 2017/18 – 2019/2020. Within that plan is the much publicised and discussed idea to change […]
Council’s £100k Xmas Bin collection saving vastly overstated – by £90k!
Over the last few years, the Council has claimed that it saves £100,000 pa by cancelling bin collections over the Xmas period. You might wonder, how a saving of this magnitude could […]
Labour Group scores ‘own goal’ with tax-payer funded electioneering on school crossing patrols.
The Derwent by-election activity is gathering pace and it will be an intense and close campaign ; the Conservatives won in May 2016 by just 3 votes. The Labour Party are taking […]
Parents protest in Council Offices demanding an end to TA/School Support staff dispute
A protest was arranged today at 1.30pm by the Parents affected by the TA/School Support staff dispute in the Council reception. Also in attendance, were TAs and UNISON. It was a noisy […]
Strike!: Teaching Assistants target Mackworth with a simple message
The Teaching Assistant (TA) / School Support staff strike action continued today with the Mackworth Ward being the target – it is home to Labour Cllrs Pegg, Whitby, and Froggatt. The striking […]
“Smoke and Mirrors” : Council declares £28m ‘cuts’ yet total funding remains flat.
In the most recent Budget consultation (published 12 December 2016) , it states that £28m cuts are required over the next 3 years from 2017/18. For the sake of clarity – there […]
£400k Gap: Solution to the Council’s flawed Library consultation proposal
The consultation on the re-structuring of the City’s libraries closes today. The Council’s preferred Option (B) does not stand up to much financial scrutiny…there is a questionable £400k gap. The solution is […]
Last day for toilets as Council cancels expensive 30 year contract
Between 1989-1991 the Council decided to install 3 automatic, single toilet units on 30 year contracts at a total forward rental cost to the Tax payer of £1.9m. This was being paid […]
Significant financial decisions for a Council that has no money
For a Council that is having to monitor revenue spending very closely, then the business cases for these significant projects, need to be robust and transparent. We look forward to the point […]
Austerity?: Labour Council to vote – £90k on political assistants it cannot afford!
The Labour Council has been unrelenting in its pursuit of the rhetoric about Tory Government cuts. Funding has been so severely shaved that vital services and public events have had to be […]
Opportunity to do good with £93k windfall income, missed – to be put in reserves.
In austere times, when funds are short, and critical services/events of public value have been cut then windfall receipts can present an opportunity. At the Cabinet meeting this week, the following is […]
Banwait to spend £60,000 on communications consultant
A Council that is battling with austerity funding , and diverting scarce resources away from discretionary services ( including Xmas lights) to mandated, statutory obligations shouldn’t be considering funding £60,000 on a […]
Council’s gender pay gap for the low paid, widens, despite Equal Pay Review
Derby City Council exhibits significant gender pay inequality despite a comprehensive Equal Pay Review. Through Freedom of Information I asked for a detailed breakdown of all salaries into salary bands, and between […]
Council’s incompetence wastes £115,000 on expensive photocopying paper.
(UPDATE : Since writing this article, the Council have changed the FOI response to reflect a much lower, competitive £/ream price and so the £115k waste statement is no longer valid. It […]
Council clueless about costs of Moorways Swimming Pool
The closure of Moorways Swimming Pool has prompted much public annoyance throughout the City, and is the subject of a high profile campaign and petition to the Council. The fact that Derby’s […]
Council cuts to charities is now undermining community
The arbitrary cuts to Voluntary Sector grants back in March 2016 were cynical – they were never necessary. I wrote on a few occasions that the Council could not control their finances […]
Derby City Council gambles £15,000 on 2nd, St Peter’s Qtr ballot
On 7th September Derby City Council Cabinet approved the “loan” of £15,000 to an external company, St Peter’s Quarter Derby Ltd (SPQ), to fund a 2nd ballot of its members to decide […]
