Mental health intervention needed in town

Local County Councillor Ed Fordham, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Derbyshire County Council, will raise the death of Chesterfield character Danny Parkes and also the spate of recent public suicides in the town at the next meeting of the Council.

Ed says “I have consistently raised issues around suicide, attempted suicide, mental health and public risk and sought to get both the Borough Council and the County Council to do more. Prevention is the real game here and I believe that the County Council is often too reactive and fails to intervene early enough in situations that require expert mental health care. Any family or individual who has been touched by a death in their family or friends through failed mental health strain knows that early intervention is crucial.

“Danny Parkes was a difficult but loveable rogue, but in truth he was also a deeply troubled guy who needed and deserved our help. The truth is, we as a society were unable to help him early enough and the collapse of his life become inevitable and visible for many of us. I strongly believe the Councils could and should have done much much more.

“Further, the recent spate of attempted and sadly successful suicides has highlighted that Chesterfield has a problem. I have constantly called for all footbridges to be made suicide proof - and this has been turned down. Indeed, in the proposed multimillion revamp of the Railway Station and Town Centre the footbridge over the A61 will remained unchanged and a constant and ongoing risk for people. 

“My solution to all of this, is that the County Council take the initiative and set up a highly visible mental health support shop in of the empty units in the Town Centre. This should be a partnership with the Borough Council, the Police, but also with the Hospital and staff from the specialist Hartington Unit. This ‘shop’ would enable the intentions to be supportive, much earlier in the life cycle of trouble and also would seek to tackle the problems rather than just arrest or move individuals out of the Town Centre. I strongly believe that we can and should do better to help those who are vulnerable for whom life has become unduly complex and burdensome. 

“I am desperately keen that we do everything possible to end the tragedy of early death through life collapse and attempted suicide from bridges around the town. Danny Parkes and others deserve that at least.”

The questions I have tabled:

1. 27th March 2024.  The issues relating to anti-social behaviour in Chesterfield have yet again bounced up the agenda of the Borough Council and the Police, and the Crime Commissioner - with more exclusion orders and actions underway to move people out of the immediate town centre. The ramifications for nearby residential areas is increasingly acute and negative. Is the County Council assured that the mental health and adult well-being teams are being included early enough in these decisions and actions to enable that meaningful life changing and positive interventions are made, rather than just moving problems out of immediate sight and into residential areas of the town?
2. To ask the Council if it would consider developing a partnership front-line service of DCC staff in adult care and trained with an understanding of mental health to work in Chesterfield in connection with the Hospital, CBC and Police to enable an earlier intervention and a more nuanced constructive engagement with what are often difficult situations in the Market Squares? Can consideration be given to a highly visible 1-stop shop open at the hours needed to secure effective engagement for those people who find themselves in need of help and advice, so we can provide pro-active assistance before someone’s life enters a downward spiral.

 PROPOSED CLOSURE OF CARE HOMES

This next round of Care Home closures is a betrayal and a disgrace and flies in the face of all the words and speeches and guarantees given previously. The Conservative administration at County Hall is literally putting the Council on a course that is entirely negative, closes homes, puts pressure on the NHS and will harm residents and patients.

The people who have put their trust in the Council in old age and at their hour of greatest need are being betrayed, sold off and literally evicted. I could not be more angry, more upset and more worried. This literally places the lives of those who live in care homes on the line. The stress and the worry will, as it did before, lead to people dying early. It is sickening. 

This is a brutal approach, it is the approach of a Council that has failed and it is wrong.

The Council can blame who they like - but the raw truth is this is the direct result of the policies of the Conservative Party locally and nationally and the guilt lies firmly at their door.

The moment of truth will come when councillors vote in the Chamber and we will see who is voting to harm residents of Derbyshire. It will isolate those who live in our homes in trust, and we will see who is voting to evict them.

The Liberal Democrat Group stands firmly

In favour of the residents, retaining the care homes and against closure.

Cllr Ed Fordham, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Derbyshire County Council.

The 5th Edward Carpenter Equality Walk

 

Open letter: WILL YOU WALK WITH US?

As you may be aware there is a growing appreciation and revival of the work of Edward Carpenter (1844-1929). Edward was a radical, an author, poet, philosopher and an advocate and activist for lgbt+ equality.

For 40 years of his life, he lived and worked in Chesterfield and Milthorpe in North Derbyshire. Indeed, he lived here openly as a gay man with his life partner George Merrill (1891-1928).

For the last four years a group of us in Chesterfield have organised The Edward Carpenter Equality Walk from Chesterfield town centre to the village of Millthorpe. It is some 6 miles or there abouts (pub to pub!) and raises money for the charity Derbyshire LGBT+ which support the lgbt+ community, young and old and campaigns for the equality.

The first year of our walk we were joined by Peter Tatchell which made the event very special indeed. Next year will be the fifth walk and this letter is to ask if you would consider joining us.

The walk will take place on Sunday 1st September 2024 – we start at 11am in Chesterfield and arrive at Millthorpe at about 1/1.30pm. it is a lovely event and a stunning cross country walk and if you could join us it would be our pleasure.

Please do let me know if this is possible.

Best wishes.

Ed Fordham amd Sparky the Husky 

Recalling the animals

I placed this in the Facebook page Dog Friendly Chesterfield last week, and we successfully have the display at Chesterfield Town Hall, a wreath at the Holmebrook Valley Park lead free area, at Newbold Parish War Memorial and in a growing number of chapels and churches. 

REMEMBRANCE WEEKEND - recalling animal gallantry.

This morning, before dawn, myself a few other animal and dog lovers set up the animal Armistice Tribute on Shentall Gardens in front of the Town Hall at Chesterfield.

The purple poppies have become the symbol of service animals. The ribbons represent the colours of the Dickin Medal for animals which was instituted during WW2.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickin_Medal

It is too little known that many of the military animals have service ranks, service numbers, bravery medals and yes pensions. They should be recognised alongside everyone else.

Yesterday I, as a Group Leader on Derbyshire County Council, laid both a red and a purple poppy wreath at Matlock County Hall for the third year running.  The reception there from staff, fellow councillors and dignitaries has been overwhelmingly supportive.

Please do take time to go and see the memorial in front of Chesterfield Town Hall. Each of the stakes has a hand knitted poppy and the respresent each of the animal recipients of The Dickin Medal for Gallantry. 

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/animal-awards-programme/pdsa-dickin-medal

This is the third year we have done this - the first year was at Holmebrook Valley Park (2021), subsequently at the RSPCA (2022) and this year 2023 at Shentall Gardens. We would welcome offers to host the memorial next year for the duration of November.

If anyone wishes to obtain a purple poppy stake to add to the display at the Town Hall or to have at home, in their garden perhaps, can come to my book stall on Chesterfield Market or TwelfthCraft in the Shambles in exchange for a donation to animal charities. There are purple poppies also for sale at the RSPCA shop on the side of the Chesterfield Markets and Market Hall.

Best wishes, Ed, Convenor, Dog Friendly Chesterfield

Footnote: there is still some resistance and reluctance to this from some sections of the Royal British Legion. I urge anyone who objects to speak to any of the dog handler veterans. Those Dog Handlers are strong and active and passionate advocates of the purple poppy - they know of the loyalty and service of animals that has, for too long, been overlooked.

Questions to the County Council

As you will be aware, councillors can table and ask written questions, the relevant Conservative Portfolio reads out an answer and we then get a follow. Since I have been asking more questions of the Conservative Administration they have moved questions to being virtually the last item on the agenda in an attempt to silence us.

Here are the four questions I have tabled for the next meeting.

1. With the cancellation of the midlands leg of HS2, to ask the Council if it will stand by all of its financial obligations of support to reconnect and complete the Chesterfield Canal restoration in the same timeframe
2. To ask what monitoring the Council undertakes of badger deaths in and across Derbyshire and particularly how many dead badgers have been found and removed on roads, footpaths, and highways by DCC for each year since 2017?
3. To ask if the Council will take new and additional measures to monitor and support schools in the face of reported increases in incidents of homophobia, transphobia and associated hate actions towards members of the LGBT+ communities in Derbyshire?#
4. To ask if the Leader regrets reporting ‘nothing’ to the last meeting of Council under the verbal ‘Report from the Leader and questions from councillors?

As ever, if there are issues you wish to be raised by me or any of the Liberal Democrat Group please do get in touch ed.fordham@gmail.com

Lack of accountability

 This letter should be fairly self evident in the context of the £46million overspend in the first quarter of the budget year at Derbyshire County Council.

To: ​Cllr Barry Lewis, Leader of the Council 

From: ​Cllr Ed Fordham, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group

 

cc.​Emma Alexander, Managing Director

 

Friday, 23rd August 2023

 

Dear Barry,

There is a fixed item on the agenda of each and everyCouncil meeting “Report of the Leader of the Council and member questions”. However, with questions only being allowed to be asked on subjects brought up in your report you have slipped into a habit of declaring that “I have nothing to report.”

On each occasion when you have said ‘nothing to report’ you know that this was disingenuous - that many things have occurred that you could choose to report to Council - but you have chosen not to. Either you consider them below the threshold of being worthwhile, or more simply you are seeking to avoid being held to account.

You know that your conduct in this regard is unworthy of you and your office. You would be critical of any other Leader of any Party who so frequently reported ‘nothing’. You know that this avoids being asked any questions from fellow councillors.

This situation would be an issue, in and of itself, but at the last Council you directly and consciously misled councillors. When you stood up in the Chamber and from the Leaders seat declared “I have nothing to report” we now all know that the opposite was true. Whilst you made out to councillors that there was nothing out of the ordinary in the business of the council the precise opposite was true. Indeed, we now know that the Managing Director of the Council was herself taking urgent steps as the Head of Service to inform all staff the following day of the crisis overspend of £46million. The same responsibility fell to you as Leader of the Council to communicate the scale of the problem to fellow councillors but you failed to do so and failed in your role.

It is now known that the papers for the Cabinet meeting had been signed off, the email was going to all staff at 9am, MPs, partner organisation and the media were all being personally briefed by senior staff on the scale of the financial crisis facing the Authority. Further, formal measures were being put in place ahead of Cabinet to limit spending, recruitment and thereby to directly affect service delivery in many areas of the Councils work.

All of this was going on whilst you glibly, blithely and indeed misleadingly told councillors that there was ‘nothing to report’.

You must surely reflect on the extent to which you have failed to understand the role of the Leader and failed to take questions from councillors in Full Council. On this occasion you have been found not just lacking, but you have deliberately and dangerous mislead all councillors. You had the formal opportunity to say something and you chose silence. Whilst the Managing Director has chosen a strategy of openness with staff - you chose silence in front of fellow councillors and peers.

It is appropriate that you should to apologise to all councillors at the next meeting of Council, or to enable others to fulfil the role of Leader in keeping with the constitution and the basic and core tenets of accountability.

Yours sincerely 

Cllr Ed Fordham
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Derbyshire County Council

Football Pride

Anyone who knows me will be amused to learn that I'm sitting here in a plenary session at Football Pride.

But for the last three years I have been in a dialogue with Chesterfield Football Club (CFC) about lgbtq+ equality. As a councillor and as an lgbtq+ campaigner

I feel that football has a reputation as a home for homophobia - and I was keen that CFC were active in calling out that perception.

So today, at Football Pride, I’m not alone from Chesterfield - there are three of us here - myself and the tow fans who are the drivers of establishing Rainbow Spireites…

It’s great progress, and I’m proud of being a tiny part of this side of equality activism.