The Mayor of Derby Cllr Frank Harwood has joined the Liberal Democrat Group on Derby City Council. He will be standing as the Lib Dem candidate for Oakwood at the local elections in May.

In 2008 he was first elected to the Council as a Liberal Democrat in Oakwood. Later, as Conservative, Frank saw first hand the divisions within the local Conservatives as well as their dictatorial style. As a hard-working councillor who prioritises putting local residents above party politics Frank could no longer abide staying in the Conservative Party, being whipped on every vote and not being able to accurately represent the people of Oakwood or undertake his politically neutral responsibilities as Mayor.

Local residents ask Aldi to keep ancient hedge and build a separate path

Local people have signed a petition calling for Aldi and Derby City Council to save a hedge on Rykneld Road. The planning approval for the new store is likely to be given any day, and it includes the removal of the ancient hedge to allow the pavement to be widened. Petitioners are arguing that it would be better for a new path to be built behind the hedge.

"We, the undersigned, being local government electors for the area of Derby City Council, seek a referendum on Council's governance arrangements, to consider whether the Council should be run on the following basis:

a) by a Leader (who is an elected councillor chosen by a vote of other elected councillors) and Cabinet (elected councillors appointed by the Leader), as it is currently;
b) by one or more Committees comprising of elected Councillors, constituted in proportion to the political balance of the full Council"

On 25th November Lib Dem councillors put forward a motion at the Full Council meeting supporting the Child Food Poverty Taskforce's call for Free School Meals to be expanded to cover all children whose families are in receipt of Universal Credit or on a low income, and that food vouchers be made available for school holidays and lockdowns.

At Council Cabinet on 13th January, a report was presented which was supposed to deal with all that the November Council motion asked for. Unfortunately it only covered children who are eligible for Free School Meals, rather than all children in poverty. At the meeting Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr Ruth Skelton asked why this was, and what would be done for low income families not entitled to Free School Meals. "I got an answer that was rather like waffle," said Cllr Skelton. "It seems Derby's Tory leaders are expecting schools to identify these children."

The motion to Council also required that letters be sent to the Secretary of State for Education, the Secretary of State for Health and the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking them to implement the recommendations of the Child Food Poverty Taskforce. Ruth asked if they had been sent and asked for copies of the letters. The answer was no they had not been sent, but would be imminently.

Lib Dem campaigner Farhatullah Khan, who helped organise lunches for children over the autumn half term holiday, said, "I'm appalled that the Tories would choose not to give help to all children living in poverty. The fact they haven't sent the letters to government ministers shows that children in poverty are of no importance to them."

On 13th January Council Cabinet approved the plan for the rebuilding of Ravensdale Infant and Nursery School after the fire in October. The work is scheduled to last for 17 months. The length of time has surprised some people who have compared this project to the rebuilding of Mickleover Primary school which took less than a year. "I raised the issue of the timescales at the Cabinet meeting," said Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr Ruth Skelton, "but I didn't get a concrete answer, so we still don't know why two similar projects are taking very different lengths of time to be completed."

Liberal Democrat Derby City councillor Danielle Lind, Chair of Children and Young People Scrutiny Board & Children and Young People Champion has written to Cllr Williams (Portfolio holder for Children and Young People) & Cllr Poulter (Leader of Derby City Council) calling on them to close primary schools in Derby from tomorrow 4th January and move to remote learning.

We ask Aldi and Derby City Council to agree to widen the Rykneld Road pavement on the field side of the hedge as part of their new store layout so that the existing hedge can be kept. A path here would be safer and more pleasant for people using the path and be less disruptive to build than widening the pavement by the road

We're all familiar with public buildings having adapted toilets available for disabled people. These are designed to ensure that, for those who need them, they can rely on there being a toilet they can use and not have to play it safe and stay at home.

Sadly though, for many disabled people who need such facilities, they face stigma when trying to use them. People with invisible disabilities such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis can face stigma or even accusations from staff when they try to use these facilities, in spite of needing them and being eligible to use them.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Steve Willoughby is delighted that the motion he proposed at the Full council meeting of Derby City Council on 25th November to recognise the hidden disability sunflower scheme was passed unanimously by all of his fellow councillors, with full cross party support. The scheme will now be discussed with council's disability forum.

Cllr Danielle Lind and Derby Liberal Democrats were delighted that their motion passed today, calling to make Free School Meals provision available to all families in need year-round, rather than just during school terms.

Responding to this, Cllr Lind said: "The coronavirus lockdowns this year have highlighted the real inequality in our country. It should be a given that no child goes hungry. I'm shocked that it's taken a pandemic and national lockdown to force action on this vital issue, and shocked that the Conservatives still aren't prepared to take this issue seriously. Why can the Conservatives not understand that all children need food?