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Here's all the information you'll need if you want to contact us over Christmas and the New Year.
 Our call centre Call Derbyshire will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Monday 27 December 2021, Tuesday 28 December, New Year's Day and Monday 3 January, except for urgent social care calls.
We'll be open as normal for the rest of the Christmas and New Year period, tel: 01629 533190.
Don't forget you can do a great many things through our website any time of day, all year round.
This includes:
Emergency contact
Call Derbyshire will take urgent social care calls outside of opening hours. Call Derbyshire also provides an emergency property service in relation to our buildings.
However, in a medical emergency, where a crime is being committed or there is a fire you should call 999.
Find details of out-of-hours emergency contacts.
You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.
If you're feeling unwell or need medical advice you can tel: 111 free from any phone to speak to an NHS adviser.
County Hall, Matlock
Our head office at County Hall, Matlock is open on Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (except bank holidays).
School term dates
You can view the term dates for schools, although some schools have variations to these dates. Parents or carers are advised to contact the relevant school for confirmation of term dates and inset days.
Derbyshire Record Office
Derbyshire Record Office is open as usual between Christmas and New Year.
Derbyshire Libraries
All Derbyshire libraries will close at 1pm on Friday 24 December and will reopen from Wednesday 29 December 2021, dependent on regular opening days and times. Melbourne library will close slightly earlier, at 1pm on 24 December and reopen on 5 January 2022.
Woodville Community Library will be closed all day on Friday 31 December.
Community Response Unit
Our Community Response Unit is available to support those who are isolated due to the pandemic without friends or family to call on.
The phone line opening times for the Community Response Unit over Christmas and New Year opening times are as follows:
- Friday 24 December – 9am-3pm
- Saturday 25 December – Tuesday 28 December – Closed
- Wednesday 29 December – 9am-4.30pm
- Thursday 30 December – 9am-4.30pm
- Friday 31 December – 9am-3pm
- Saturday 1 January 2022 – Monday 3 January 2022 – Closed
Until Friday 24 December 2021 and from Tuesday 4 January 2022 the usual phone line times are in operation. These are on Monday to Thursday from 9am – 5pm and Friday 9am – 4.30pm. Tel: 01629 535091.
When our lines are closed over Christmas you can call NHS Volunteers tel: 0808 196 3646 from 8am to 8pm, seven days per week or visit NHS volunteer responders.
We would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and New Year.
School-age children living in Derbyshire who receive benefit-related free school meals will be able to register for free Christmas holiday activities available at community centres and schools across the county.
 More than 19,000 free places are on offer at 80 venues, providing activity sessions four days per week as part of the winter holiday activity and food programme (HAF) programme
The activities are for children aged five to 16 and will be available from Thursday 23 December to Friday 7 January, excluding bank holidays and weekends.
Places are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with a limited number available.
Children will be provided with a healthy meal at breakfast or lunchtime and a choice of fun, seasonal activities including trips to attend pantomimes, visits to our outdoor activity centres at Go Beyond, Lea Green and Whitehall as well as concerts, sports and craft clubs.
In addition, grants of £5,000 have been given to six local CVS organisations to support the delivery of the free activities including Amber Valley, Bassetlaw, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak and South Derbyshire.
To apply, parents can visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/holidayactivities. The webpage includes an interactive map with a postcode/address search to find nearby school holiday clubs and how to register.
 It’s that time of year when we often find ourselves with more paper, packaging and other waste than we know what to do with.
But help is at hand at our household waste recycling centres which are open every day except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. On all other days they open from 8.30am to 6pm. Please sort your recyclables before you arrive so it’s easier to put them in the right containers.
Christmas cards and wrapping paper with glue, glitter, Sellotape and embellishments on them can’t be recycled unfortunately.
Remember you can recycle your large and small electricals at our centres as well as your other Christmas recycling and waste.
If you are bringing anything that is battery powered please make sure that the batteries are removed and put in the battery recycling area as batteries left in items and in general waste can be a fire hazard.
We're asking for people's views on the future of accommodation for older people in a number of our residential care homes.
We've launched a consultation after hearing significant maintenance, renovation and refurbishment is needed in seven ageing care homes.
The work needed includes replacing boilers, heating systems, refitting all kitchens and bathrooms, roofing works and installing sprinkler systems. There is also a pressing need for an invasive rewire in each home to be carried out by September 2022.
If the work went ahead residents could face significant disruption as they would have to move out for up to 40 weeks and staff would need to be redeployed.
Even if the repairs costing around £30 million were carried out, the homes are no longer fit for purpose and do not have the space, facilities or capability to be adapted to provide high quality care for older people with increasingly complex needs.
The seven homes are:
- Ladycross House, Travers Road, Sandiacre
- Beechcroft, Nursery Avenue, West Hallam
- East Clune, West Street, Clowne (including East Clune Day Centre)
- Holmlea, Waverley Street, Tibshelf
- The Spinney, Landsdowne Road, Woodlands, Brimington
- Goyt Valley House, Jubilee Street, New Mills
- Gernon Manor, Dagnell Gardens, Bakewell
The options to be consulted on are to:
- rewire and carry out major works to refurbish the homes including
- installing boiler and heating systems
- replacing bathrooms and kitchens,
- removal of any asbestos
- the fitting of sprinklers and redecoration - this option would require residents to move out for up to 40 weeks
- close the homes and support residents to move to other local, suitable alternative provision
- close the homes and support residents to move to any available suitable alternative provision.
Have your say by taking part in our consultation, which closes on Friday 4 March 2022.
Members of the public can get more information and complete an online questionnaire or request a paper copy of the questionnaire, email tell.adultcare@derbyshire.gov.uk or by contacting the stakeholder engagement and consultation team, tel: 01629 531307.
We're currently experiencing the biggest outbreak we have ever seen of bird flu across the UK. People who keep birds must house them and follow strict biosecurity measures.
 Poor biosecurity is a major reason for the large number of avian influenza outbreaks across the UK.
If you have birds please keep them indoors, use dedicated footwear to tend to your birds, wash hands before and after tending to your birds, clean and disinfect equipment, keep rodents out, store bedding undercover and maintain buildings to keep water out.
Three cases of bird flu have been linked with Derbyshire. Please follow all the rules to help stop the spread.
Please take part in our survey which will help us plan for the future, develop services and provide the support that Derbyshire residents need to live their best lives.
Social enterprise Sortified is running the survey, called #BestLifeDerbyshire, on our behalf and we’re encouraging all residents to take part and tell us more.
The survey is made up of a few simple questions asking people more about them, which area of Derbyshire they live in and what changes would help them to live their best lives now and in the future.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic a lot has changed, so the survey aims to find out whether things people felt were important beforehand have changed as a result.
As well as the survey, Sortified are already talking to as many Derbyshire residents as they can to find out their views and thoughts about what’s important to them. There are also online group sessions and events, quizzes and polls.
It’s a real opportunity for local people to talk to the council through Sortified and know they’re being listened to. All the information received will help with future planning.
To take part go to www.sortified.com/bestlifederbyshire The survey closes on Monday 27 December 2021.
People can also contact Sortified by email info@sortified.com or by calling/texting 07415 369327.
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