DERBY CITY COUNCIL

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Derby City Council is being prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after 12-year-old Vicci Thomas was killed after railings at Osmaston Park on which she was climbing collapsed. The council is facing an allegation that it contravened the Health and Safety Act by not ensuring the wrought-iron railings had been maintained in a safe condition. Yet nearly three years later rusted wrought-iron gates were found at Darley Park.

John Winters, council director of commercial services, said, "We have an annual inspection programme, which covers all our boundaries. Gates, railings and fencing are checked for stability and our first priority is to remove any potential hazards." Mr Winters added that the council's park rangers were instructed to report any deterioration or damage that occurred in between the annual inspections. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Mar/06)

The City Council has been ordered to pay £100,000 in fines and costs for breaking health and safety regulations following the death of a 12-year-old girl who was crushed by railings at a city park. An inquest ruled the death was accidental but poor maintenance by Derby City Council played a part. Since the accident, the city council has removed the railings in the park and replaced them with smaller fencing. The council was fined £42,000 and ordered to pay £58,000 in costs. (Source: BBC News, Feb/07)

Blagreaves Councillor Sean Marshall defected from the Lib Dems to the Conservative party because he was unhappy that Sir Menzies Campbell was elected leader of the Lib Dems. Mr Marshall said, "I thought the Liberal Democrat policies were in line with my own thoughts. I have always voted Conservative but I did think the grass was greener. Now I see it wasn't, so I've come back." The Tories are now the official opposition with 12 seats against Labour's majority of 26.

He added that he would not call for a by-election to give the people of Blagreaves an opportunity to decide whether to re-elect him. Deputy Tory leader Richard Smalley said, "It's a coup for the group to get a councillor of Sean Marshall's quality. It reinforces which party is in the ascendency." Lib Dem group leader Hilary Jones believes he should resign his seat and stand for re-election, letting the people of his ward to decide. She added, "I'm really surprised and very disappointed. He's not said anything to either myself of the deputy leader, Lucy Care." (Source: BBC News, Mar/06)

Derby City Council is to launch a scheme to give people a bigger say in decisions affecting their communities. It is expected to provide more formal recognition of the work carried out by dozens of community action groups across the city. The council wants a string of forums across neighbourhoods that are more localised than the existing five area panels. Under the scheme, area panels, which each represent three or four of the city's 17 wards, would continue, though in a more strategic role. Many of the city's action groups have already proved successful in lobbying for change in their areas but few have official ties to the council and other official organisations.

The council is also investigating the potential of appointing "street champions", who would represent their neighbours on the new forums. Council leader Chris Williamson said, "We want to put people in the driving seat. They're forums for people to determine what happens in their areas. They'll give people more opportunity to engage with other organisations, such as the Primary Care Trusts, and, in some cases, private companies. It will be much smaller than a ward-by-ward basis. In some parts of the city we're already pretty well organised on that level but we want to give them a bit more formality without burdening them with bureaucracy."

Derby City Council came under fire from residents following the removal of more than 200 square metres of woodland behind the Seven Stars pub in King Street. The council claimed that it cleared the land in preparation for a trial archaeological excavation along sections of the planned link road between St Helen's Street and Lodge Lane. But objectors said the extent of the clearance is both "unnecessary" and "convenient" for the future of the controversial road scheme. County archaeologists advise that only a 6% area of any given site is normally required to carry out such archaeological spot checks. In this case, the area cleared is closer to 20% of the length of the road.

The objectors also alleged that the woodland, which contained up to 20 sycamore and ash trees, was possibly a home to nesting birds. It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to "take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird intentionally while it is in use or being built". Andrew Myers, development control archaeologist for Derbyshire, said that the 6% guideline for trial digs varied depending on the site. He said, "I'd anticipate that 6% would probably apply to the area we're talking about." Dave Powner, council project manager for Connecting Derby, said, "We have not, in any way, tried to do something underhand. It's purely so that we can carry out an archaeological excavation. If we were doing it for the road, I'd have cut more trees down."

Mr Powner did admit that officers had failed to inform Councillor Lucy Care, the cabinet member for planning, transportation and environment, before the work was started. Mrs Care said, "I'm pleased that people got in touch with me to let me know what was happening. It would have been useful to have known beforehand." A council spokeswoman said that an assessment carried out by arboricultural officers prior to the clearance determined that there were no nesting birds or other wildlife on the site. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

People suing the councils in Derbyshire for personal injury are diverting nearly £1m of taxpayers' money away from public services. And Derby City Council has paid out £57,692 for 63 personal injury claims relating to the year 2001/2 and £154 for three claims in 2002/3. People have up to six years after an incident to make a claim and so these figures could rise even further. Figures from the Local Government Association have revealed that, of 212 councils surveyed, 87 per cent said the number of claims had risen in recent years. Councils set aside a budget for claims, some of which is eaten up by lawyers' fees.

Authorities can either self-insure, which makes them liable for the costs, or use an insurance company. Using an insurance firm can be very costly for councils, as they pay an excess on claims. The majority of personal injury cases against councils come from people claiming for trips, slips and falls on roads and pavements. County council spokesman John Fern said the council had taken over responsibility for more roads since 2001/02, which had led to "a lot more" claims. He added, "If the claims weren't there, then the money could be spent on other things within the authority."

Derby South MP and Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett spent more than 10 weeks abroad in 2003, costing the taxpayer £120,000. The figures, released by the Cabinet Office, refer to the period between April 2003 and April 2004. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrats environment spokesman, asked a series of parliamentary questions requesting details of her trips, but claimed the Environment Secretary refused to answer adequately.

Ms Beckett's spokeswoman said, "Because of the nature of our work, we deal with crucial global issues like the environment, these are things that can only be dealt with in high-level negotiations. We have to go to these absolutely crucial high-level meetings. These meetings require high-level representation, not just from a Minister, but from a Secretary of State."