A report showcasing Council achievements at the end of 2022/23 will be presented to Cabinet on Wednesday 14 June.

Highlights from the report include a rise in the city’s recycling rate of over 3% from the same period last year, and a reduction in the use of expensive independent foster placements.

The report comes as officers review progress on actions and priorities that formed the basis of the Council Delivery Plan for 2022/23. The overarching Council Plan 2022-2025 details how the Council will work together with the city, for the city. Within this are four priority areas: Green city, City of growth, Resilient city and Vibrant city. Of the measures where targets had been set, 72% had been met or exceeded by the end of March 2023, an increase of 7% from March 2022.

Within the Green city theme, key achievements in 2022/23 included; the completion of the Roadside NO2 project which has delivered air quality improvements to Stafford Street. In June 2022, the Council approved its Climate Change Action Plan with an ambition for the organisation to be net zero by 2035.

The city of growth theme has had several successes, helping to boost the local and wider economy. Almost 250 new jobs were created from Council initiatives and 226 homes in the city are now at an acceptable standard because of Council action.

One of the biggest achievements for the city in the last 12 months was the announcement in March that Derby had been selected as the home of Great British Railways Headquarters. The successful campaign is expected to deliver major investments and job opportunities in the city, with Council Leader Baggy Shanker recently writing to Government to ensure they reaffirm their commitment to progress the initiative.

The report also shows that both Council and partnership activities have helped the city become a more resilient place. More children looked after by a foster carer were placed with our carers instead of with an Independent Fostering Agency carer, with 37% of fostered children and young people placed with a Derby City Council Carer at the end of March 2023, an improvement from 24.5% from the end of June 2022.

Additionally, 96% of families supported by our Early Help Teams achieved positive outcomes, with our Staying Together Team working with social care colleagues to keep children and young people safely at home.   

In the final quarter of the 2022/23, a total of 12 milestones were completed, giving a total of 21 across the year. The milestones include:

  • Delivering green and vibrant planting schemes in the city centre and high-profile areas around the city
  • Delivering the Housing Strategy to modernise, improve or build affordable accommodation to ensure people are safe and connected to their communities
  • Created a ‘coordinating group’ across services, with partners to support a cleaner, safer and more active city centre

Councillor Baggy Shanker, Leader of Derby City Council commented:

I want to commend officers for their hard work to deliver these achievements over the last 12 months and prior. We must continue to closely monitor our performance as that is key to improvements. This report also shows where we are continuing to face challenges and pressures because of increased demand for our services and our current financial position. Derby has been hit hard by Austerity and the Government needs to realise performance is impacted by funding cuts.

The full report and appendix can be found on the Council’s Democracy Portal.