Reports highlighting Council performance over the past year will be heading to Cabinet on Wednesday 13 August.
The Quarter 4 Performance Monitoring Report will be presented to Cabinet alongside the Annual Report for 2023/24. Highlights from this year, include; the opening of six new Family Hubs in the city, the continued progress of major city centre redevelopments, and the creation of the Foster For East Midlands regional hub.
These reports come as officers review progress on actions and priorities that formed the basis of the Council Delivery Plan for 2023/24. The overarching Council Plan 2022-2025 details how the Council will work together with the city, for the city across five priority areas: Green city, City of growth, Resilient city, Vibrant city, and Working smarter.
A lot of work has taken place to make Derby a better-connected, sustainable city for the future, a key focus of the Green theme. During 2023/24, 5,410m of new cycle and walkways have been delivered, alongside 6,000m2 of public realm improvements at areas, including the Spot and Babington Lane.
The Sustainable Derby Partnership Board was launched as a forum, where the Council can coordinate its ‘green’ activities with partners to tackle the issues facing our city more effectively. We saw the impacts of our changing climate in October 2023, when the city was faced with the highest river levels on record. During this event the new Our City, Our River flood defences played a crucial part in protecting large parts of the city centre.
Creating jobs and skills for the future is central to the Growth theme, and this year Council initiatives have created over 400 jobs and attracted £3.8 million of investment. Developing the right skills begins in schools, of which 92% in the city were judged to be good or better by OFSTED. In January the Employment and Skills Forum met for the first time, while Derby Adult Learning Service has also seen 3,188 enrolments to community and skills programmes, supported by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
The reports show that the Council is well on the way to transforming Derby into a vibrant and diverse city, with several major projects seeing good progress, including the Becketwell entertainment and conference venue, the Guildhall, and the demolition of the Assembly Rooms. The city’s cultural offer has also seen success, with 15,000 people attending 2023’s Darley Park Weekender, 119,000 attending events at Derby Arena. Derby has also retained its Purple Flag night time safety status for the tenth year running.
The Council has also worked to provide the right care and support for every child and family. By the end of March 2024 over 3,000 were being supported by early help and/or children’s social care.
Partnership working is a key part of the Resilient theme. Over the past year the Council has worked with neighbouring authorities to launch a new regional Fostering Hub and have partnered with Derbyshire Community Health services to develop a new Community First offer.
The Council is continuing to find ways to work smarter and support citizens to get on in life. To date, 89% of customers have registered with myAccount, enabling them to contact us online at any time. The establishment of the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) has also widened the funding available for the region.
Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council, said:
I’m delighted with the progress that has been made in the first year of this administration. We want to be ambitious for Derby and create a city that everyone can be proud of, and these reports show that we are heading in the right direction.
Despite the challenges and pressures that local authorities continue to face, we are still putting our citizens first and are committed to delivering the services they need. Everything we do and achieve is down to the colleagues working for and with us and I want to thank them for their hard work in achieving these outcomes.