Robbed!!

Unfortunately, we appear to have been robbed – the LCG Council of the Year award was given to Greenwich at their recent award ceremony! Obviously I believe we should have won, it is about leading by example after all!

I’m not bitter though, as we did win the award for Business Transformation for our ‘one Derby, one council’ transformation programme, which drove the redevelopment of the Council House, the upgrading of the council website and the creation of new central teams like Business Support – and not to mention saving £32 million by working more efficiently.

Obviously I congratulate Greenwich on their success, but we will be aiming to win next year of course!

MIPIM

Looking back on MIPIM, I can honestly say it was a great event. Lots of people attended, and I think Derby put on a great stand thanks to the Marketing Derby team. If I’m fair, other cities, such as Manchester, had some great stands too and received lots of attention – it just goes to show the competition that’s out there.

It’s all about networking at the end of the day, so it can be a slow burner, but being able to meet so many interesting people gives us the chance to shine and sell Derby as the great city it is to invest in.

For all things MIPIM, it’s worth giving Jackie Sadek’s blog a read: http://www.estatesgazette.com/blogs/jackie-sadek/2013/03/never-mind-the-budget-as.html

Full steam ahead

I met with the Derby & Derbyshire Rail forum a few days ago. We’ve been working together with them as they are one of our key partners, we are supporting the smaller rail businesses to enhance their key skills, and the regeneration team have been helping out with various other tasks.
The rail industry is something which is vital for us to support -they are doing fantastic things, and we want to continue to help where we can.

Off to a flying start

I went to a meeting recently of the Aerospace Alliance, which was extremely interesting. Derby is the premier city in the UK for aerospace engineering and there were many suppliers at this meeting which I hope are interested in investing in Derby. Any suppliers wanting to invest will be fully supported by us – especially in this field as there is a huge demand for aerospace products. I bet you didn’t know that there are over 1 billion people in the world who have never flown but could be doing so in the next few years, which really shows the size of this market.

What a load of rubbish continued…

Following the big clean-up of a Derby resident’s messy garden I’d like to give a big thanks to everyone involved. Everyone did a fantastic job (you know who you are), and I have nominated them for VIP awards. I also would like to thank the Police for all their help.

What am I worth?

For those who are wondering if I’ll be taking an allowance increase this year, the answer is no.

You’ll see I have told the Derby Telegraph that the Leader of the Council is worth every penny, and I stand by that, despite what some may think.

This is a full time, challenging role with many demands which fully deserve a £50k allowance, however, I didn’t come into politics, or take on this job, to make money.

Taking an increase at a time when so many people are losing jobs just does not sit well with me. No one else is receiving a pay rise, so why should I?

On our way to get a fair deal for Derby

I’ll be travelling to London on 18 March to meet with Minister Brandon Lewis about our fair deal for Derby campaign.
Many of you will already know that the campaign has been running for around 5 months, and we’re asking for better Government funding, as Derby seems to be getting a disproportionate cut of funding compared to other authorities.

I hope he is willing to listen, as it’s a fact that he can’t get a true feel for how cuts are affecting our city from down in London, which is why I’ll take Derby to him!

If you agree that Derby is being unfairly treated, and want a fair deal for Derby, more information and a petition form to sign can be found here: http://www.derby.gov.uk/whats-happening-in-derby/news/fair-deal/

And thousands of people have already signed up for this so you will be in good company!

Say thanks to great staff through VIP awards

Council services are so wide spread and varied I’m sure we can all think of someone who deserves a VIP award for the work they do! Council workers are true unsung heroes – they keep our buildings clean, empty our bins, keep the streets tidy, look after our relatives, and so much more. They keep Derby going, and can be taken for granted so the VIP awards are the perfect way of giving you the opportunity to say thank you.

This year the customer service award is open for members of the public to vote for a council worker who has gone the extra mile to provide an excellent service. – but there’s not long left to nominate.

Go to http://www.derby.gov.uk/whats-happening-in-derby/news/vip-awards for details of the criteria of each award, how the scheme works and how to make a nomination, and make sure it’s in before Wednesday 6 March.

What a load of rubbish!

Council workers have been busy this week cleaning up one of our Alvaston residents’ garden.

It’s not the first time we have had to take action like this, and we’ve previously removed 15 skips worth of rubbish from the same house, resulting in a big cleaning bill and time in prison for Mr Ellison.

Each time he has been sent a notice telling him to clear up, and each time it is ignored.

It’s safe to say that we will take action in circumstances like these, and he will pay for the work carried out to clean up his drive – even if he doesn’t thank us for it, I’m sure his neighbours will!

I have been told that he has complained we have stolen his property so I shall await my collar being felt and my day in court.

Otherwise Mr Ellison please tidy up your back garden or we will be round to do that as well, and send you the bill.

Putting the power in our hands

A report was published on 29 January by the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee calling for local Government to be given more autonomy and fiscal powers.

I fully support the key principles of the code submitted by the committee, which suggest local government should be independent of central government, and given greater power to meet the needs of local people.

We should be given the freedom to consult with local residents, and better shape our services to their needs, whilst also being more accountable.

The introduction of a code would be a step in the right direction to enable us to have greater control over our finances, and investment in local communities.

For those who fancy a read, the full report can be found here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/political-and-constitutional-reform-committee/publications/