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01  Voice · Union · Care home closures & provider failure

Martin Porter: no photograph is held, so the UNISON Derbyshire branch monogram is shown instead.
Union

Martin Porter

Branch Secretary, UNISON Derbyshire branch

Press coverage by month · bar height shows relative volume
Apr 2026MayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovto date
1

Quoted in the press, across 1 topic since 16 Apr 2026

CHESTERFIELD
OfficeUNISON Derbyshire branch, Chesterfield, S42 5PWUNISON Derbyshire branch is based in North East Derbyshire (Chesterfield): the organisation’s base, not a personal address.

02  Quoted on · 1 of 29 topics

Open the topic

Martin Porter: key facts

Kind of voice
Union
Role
Branch Secretary
Organisation
UNISON Derbyshire branch
Organisation based in
North East Derbyshire
Quoted on
Care home closures & provider failure
Press coverage
Quoted in the press
Most recently quoted
16 Jul 2026
First quoted
16 Apr 2026

03  Profile

Who Martin Porter is

Martin Porter is the UNISON Derbyshire branch secretary. UNISON's branch directory lists the Derbyshire County branch secretary as Mr MJ Porter, with a contact address at North Wingfield Resource Centre near Chesterfield.

UNISON describes the union as representing thousands of council and school staff across Derbyshire. In 2025 and 2026 he was quoted in union and local press criticising Derbyshire County Council's closure and privatisation of its care homes and day centres. He has argued that care should be provided on a non-profit, public-service basis.

He has also criticised the council's handling of its consultation on the closures, and he has called for local government reorganisation in Derbyshire to protect jobs and services.

04  The signal · where Martin Porter sits on care home closures & provider failure

Quoted

Quoted in the press on care home closures & provider failure.

Placed by press coverage on this topic only, not across all topics.

  1. Professor Martin Green OBE portraitProfessor Martin Green OBESector leaderChief Executive, Care EnglandLeading
  2. Mario Kreft MBE portraitMario Kreft MBESector leaderOwner, Pendine Park Care Organisation (retired as Chair of Care Forum Wales and the Wales Care Awards in September 2026)Leading
  3. Catriona EglintonRegulatorDeputy Director of Adult Social Care (Kent), Care Quality Commission (CQC)Leading
  4. Sharifa Lakhani portraitSharifa LakhaniSector leaderChief Executive Officer, Holmes Care Group
  5. Sanjiv JoshiSector leaderChair of Caron Group
  6. Martin PorterUnionBranch Secretary, UNISON Derbyshire branch
  7. Jon AllenSector leaderDirector of Norton Hall Care Home
  8. Neil JarvisRegulatorDeputy Director of Place, Durham County Council

Showing the leading voices and those placed around Martin Porter · See every voice on the topic →

05  On the record · press

What Martin Porter has said

By outlet · bar length shows relative volume
  • derbyshiretimes.co.uk

Where Martin Porter has been quoted

  1. 'Positive discussions' over plans to sell Derbyshire council care homederbyshiretimes.co.uk · 16 Jul 2026
  2. Union says plan to save Derbyshire care home is ‘cold comfort’ for eight facing closurederbyshiretimes.co.uk · 16 Apr 2026

How we found the articles that name Martin Porter: we searched news for these terms.

  • care home closure
  • provider failure
  • residential care closure
  • care home insolvency
  • care home fees
  • care home places
  • care market
  • market sustainability

Also searched with “care home closure” in each of 8 national papers, and in the Guardian by editor tag, and in trade press by category. Every term for Care home closures & provider failure

Verbatim

“UNISON Derbyshire Branch Secretary Martin Porter had been pleased to learn Ada Belfield would survive but he stressed the union's preference has always been to avoid the privatisation of public services and he described Ada Belfield's position as 'cold comfort' for those affected by the eight closed homes.”
UNISON Derbyshire Branch Secretary · Care home closures & provider failure · derbyshiretimes.co.uk · 16 Jul 2026 · Read the article
“UNISON Derbyshire is pleased that it appears that this wonderful home will continue to operate, and that its amazing staff will keep their jobs. This is a victory for our members, the residents' families and the local people in Belper who have marched, rallied and lobbied to save Ada Belfield.”
UNISON Derbyshire Branch Secretary · Care home closures & provider failure · derbyshiretimes.co.uk · 16 Apr 2026 · Read the article

Related media coverage

Recent UK press coverage of their topics, not necessarily citing them directly.

06  Sources

References for this biography

  1. Derbyshire County – UNISON branch directory. The branch secretary is listed as Mr MJ Porter. The branch contact address is c/o North Wingfield Resource Centre, Chesterfield, S42 5PW.
  2. Watchdog attacks Derbyshire County Council over care home closures. He is named as UNISON Derbyshire branch secretary. He criticised the council's consultation on the closure of eight care homes and five day centres, and warned of more than 100 staff facing redundancy.
  3. Plans to reshape Derbyshire councils must protect jobs and services. UNISON represents thousands of council and school staff across Derbyshire. He commented on local government reorganisation and its effect on council staff and services.
  4. Union campaigners meet with care minister in bid to save eight Derbyshire council care homes from closure (Erewash Sound). He said the union believes in non-profit public service provision of care. UNISON met Care Minister Stephen Kinnock at Parliament on 11 March.
  5. NE Derbyshire MP describes Eckington care home closure as 'devastating' as eight homes close countywide (Derbyshire Times). He commented as Derbyshire UNISON Branch Secretary on the closure of the eight council-owned care homes and on the Ada Belfield home.
  6. Derbyshire MPs back families in battle to save care homes (UNISON). He said it would be better to keep homes like The Grange open than to force residents to move.

07  Contact & links

Staff page
branches.unison.org.uk/branch/derbyshire-county

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.

Officers of trade unions and professional associations speaking for a workforce. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 3 Nov 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.