In this year’s Annual report, Cllr Roulstone ( Cabinet member for Finance) stated: A casual reader of this would be led to believe that the Council had set a balanced budget at […]
Council’s £21m overspend “airbrushed” as a “balanced budget”
City’s emergency food drop-off point now at Derby County’s Pride Park stadium
At the end of March, I reported on the new emergency food provision in the City. Derby’s emergency food provision during Covid-19 Lockdown period This has been set up by the Derby […]
Party first; the week the Tory Council ‘faced the music’ and its credibility fell apart
May 2018 was a pivotal point in Derby’s political history as it saw the end of the “toxic Banwait era” Labour lost its majority but was still the largest party. The Tory […]
Does the recent UNESCO Heritage advice signal the end of ‘The Landmark’ building project?
The Landmark building project was approved by the Planning Committee back in February 2019. Despite being initially rejected by the Committee, and considered by many residents to be unsightly ( albeit supported […]
Assembly Rooms refurbishment : Council will inevitably announce a cost overrun to the £24m budget – just a matter of time!
Last week, Derby City Council declared that the completion date for the refurbished Assembly Rooms had slipped from Autumn 2020 to November 2021. Despite this, they maintained that the budget will remain […]
Cabinet to approve £1m to “Change Derby” – the benefits are “an act of faith”
Today, the Cabinet is set to approve a proposal by Council Officers, to spend £1m on a new “Change Derby” programme. After much questioning last night at the Executive Scrutiny Board ( […]
Quick Guide to the Council’s 2019/20 Budget ; next stage, develop community integration
Next week the Full Council agrees the 209 page Budget statement for 2019/20. This is a weighty document for the busy reader. Below is a quick guide through the main highlights. What’s […]
Derby News Review of 2018 and thoughts on what might happen in 2019!
A brief review of article highlights for this year…and some predictions for this coming year. Banwait loses his seat, and Labour lose control of the Council By May 2018, when the local […]
Conservative administration “reveals its hand” in first detailed Budget update – Care required!
Since May 2018, there have been a number of reports presented to the Cabinet about gaps in the Council budget: 2018 / 19 – £21m gap ( £12m caused by the overspend […]
Creative Scrutiny Board recommendations on Special Educational Needs summarily dismissed by Cabinet.
At the Executive Scrutiny Board last night ( 9th October), one of the many subjects on the agenda was “Improving Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Provision in Derby”. A comprehensive document which […]
Sinfin Incinerator : the pressure to terminate the contract mounts! Full facts will be available on 19th October…
The Council’s cross-party Executive Scrutiny Board robustly challenged the Council Cabinet’s position on the termination of the Sinfin Incincerator ( to be formally presented on the 10th October) “To defer any decision […]
A52 ‘mess’; Cabinet report implies widespread incompetence leading to cost overruns and slippages
A report to be presented to the Cabinet next week on the A52 cost overrun and delays, makes enlightening reading. It is only an interim report, despite the expectation that, after 3 […]
Council forecast £21m hit to finances this year (2018/19) – what happened to the ‘balanced budget’?
In January 2018, the previous Labour administration presented to Full Council a “balanced budget” for 2018/19, and 2019/20. This meant that in-year expenditure on all services, would be covered by available Government/Council […]
Senior Officers’ proposal to reduce beds in Council Children’s Homes – does not bear Scrutiny!
Council Officers are proposing a reconfiguration of the service provision for Derby City Council Children’s Homes. This will be presented to Cabinet today and was subject to a cross-Party Executive Scrutiny Board […]
Council’s new Delivery Plan more “vague and woolly” than “open and transparent”
Next week’s Cabinet meeting will receive the 2017/18 Derby City Council “Annual Performance Results” which will declare that 94% of the Council pledges were either “completed or ‘on track’” in that year. […]
Executive Scrutiny Board examines the £12m budget gap: a different way of planning, or a total surprise?
In a previous article “The £12m gap in next year’s Council budget is more concerning than the A52 overspend. The financial planning system is “out of control”.” I reported on the latest […]
The Council’s Executive Scrutiny Board should be wary of the “airbrushed” report on the Special Educational Needs statement conversion programme. “All that glitters is not gold”.
Tomorrow night, Council Officers will be presenting a report to the cross-Party Executive Scrutiny Board on “Transfers from Statements of Special Educational Needs (SEN) to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP)” which […]
Council’s Labour Group struggling with being “in opposition” and scoring many “own goals” in the process.
At the first Full Council meeting of the new municipal year, and with a new administration in place, there was an opportunity for the conduct of the proceedings to be different – […]
The £12m gap in next year’s Council budget is more concerning than the A52 overspend. The financial planning system is “out of control”.
At the Cabinet Meeting next week the new Conservative administration will present its proposed Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2019/2020 to 2022/2023. The plan reveals a significant gap between expected spend and […]
Time to Pause the failing Library Strategy; there is a better way forward, for everyone!
The new Conservative administration seems to be supporting and continuing the Library strategy with the imminent “transfer” of Allestree library. This is despite the evidence on the ground being that it is […]
