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Derbyshire and Derby have been recognised as national ‘Levelling Up’ leaders with the government announcing on Wednesday that we have secured a County Deal set to bring substantial investment to our area.
Together with Derby City Council, and working alongside the eight other district and borough councils in the county, we have been awarded ‘pathfinder’ status by the government as part of the deal – one of the first to be awarded at county level.
Though figures have not yet been announced, the deal will bring extra investment to support economic growth here, alongside the transfer of specific powers from central government to a local level in areas like transport, bus services, housing and skills, giving greater autonomy to local leaders over decision making and funding.
More information is expected from the government in the coming weeks.
We have set out our budget for the year ahead and agreed a council tax increase of 3% which is 2% lower than allowed by central government.
Our net budget for 2022 to 2023 was set at £618.457 million – money that we'll use to protect and invest in vital services.
But we do face on-going financial pressures in several areas, significantly in services caring for older and vulnerable people and children.
The 3% council tax rise will be made up of a 1% Adult Social Care precept (to be spent just on adult social care) and 2% for our general spending.
This will mean an extra 62p per week for an average band B household and for a band D household the rise will be 80p per week.
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Do you run a small or medium-sized business? You're invited to a series of free workshops, masterclasses and networking activities through the Derbyshire Festival of Business which has been set up to help businesses recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
 Upcoming FREE events include:
The digital marketing conference is a unique opportunity to learn more about the latest trends in digital marketing for 2022.
This event will showcase the breadth of D2N2 support and the impact that this has had on local businesses that are Growth Hub clients.
We're supporting the festival as part of Vision Derbyshire – a partnership of Derbyshire councils that will improve services for residents and how the councils work together.
The University of Derby and the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce are co-ordinating the schedule of activities in partnership with local businesses to offer help and support to showcase Derbyshire’s business potential, and help businesses grow.
Derbyshire is one of the areas to be included in new government plans to transform education.
Our county has been identified as one of 55 ‘cold spots’ across the country to benefit as an ‘Education Investment Area’.
In these new areas the Department for Education will target investment, support and action to help children from all backgrounds and areas to succeed at the very highest levels.
This investment will complement work we’ve already started when we invested £1m into local programmes to improve reading and essential life skills for young people. And it will build on our work during the coronavirus pandemic to deliver our £2.8m Holiday Activities and Food programme, which established a network of 62 community and voluntary providers to deliver more than 60,000 holiday activity and food places to vulnerable children eligible to free school meals over summer and Christmas.
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In today’s modern world where we’re all spending more time on the internet, it’s more important than ever to stay safe online.
On Tuesday 8 February it’s Safer Internet Day and we’re backing the national campaign to increase awareness on how we can all use the internet safely and responsibly.
This year’s theme is ‘All fun and games?’ – exploring young people’s role in creating a safer internet, whether that is while gaming and creating content, or interacting with their friends. Find out more about how to protect young people on the Safer Internet Centre’s website
There is also a free online safety session by police cybercrime experts on Tuesday 8 February at 6:30pm.
And you can take our Digital MOT to help protect yourself and your children and other young people from all aspects of online fraud and cybercrime. Devised with the police it’s free and takes just five minutes to complete.
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To celebrate National Storytelling Week our library service has launched a creative writing competition for young people.
Your Story – My Story is the theme of the competition. Libraries are looking for stories of no more than 50 words based on young people’s experiences of their local area and community.
There are two age categories: 7 to 11, and 12 to 16, and the prizes will be goodie bags including books for both the winners and runners-up.
The deadline for entries is Sunday 27 February 2022.
Entries should be sent to ask.library@derbyshire.gov.uk along with the entrant’s name and age, and a contact number or email for their school.
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On Sunday we’ll be lighting up County Hall in Matlock purple to mark 70 years on the throne for Her Majesty the Queen.
You can find out more about local and national events throughout the year for the Platinum Jubilee www.derbyshire.gov.uk/QueensJubilee
The Jubilee celebration will culminate in a four-day UK bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June.
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