CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Carers’ Centre on George Street becomes the latest casualty of Mayor Perry’s cuts, as consultants hired by the council for £1m are thought to be behind the cost-trimming changes
Forced to close: carers dispute the council’s claims that it has made its decision based on ‘consultation’
Hard-pressed residents who use the Croydon Carers’ Centre on George Street have accused the council of “gas-lighting” them over a contracts deal which will see what they have called their “sanctuary” forced to close next month.
It has also been suggested that the cash-strapped council has opted for cheaper service providers, forcing the Whitgift Foundation, the operators of the Carers’ Centre, to take the decision to end its operation.
Within hours, the council’s propaganda bunker was forced to issue a press statement which tried to claim that new contracts will somehow “deliver enhanced support for Croydon’s carers”.
The council said that it had broken the provision into three parts, with “adult carer’s [sic] assessments” now to be provided by Carers First, mental health support and counselling from Mind in Croydon, and young carers’ and young adult carers’ service delivered by Off the Record.
Carers First, with registered offices in Rochester, Kent, currently provide services to local authorities in Essex, Hackney, Harigey, Lincolnshire, Medway, Merton, Southend and Waltham Forest. They worked with television presenter Kate Garraway while she cared for her husband, the former political lobbyist Derek Draper, who last year died from complications related to long covid.
According to Carers First latest financial accounts (to March 31 2024), they had an annual turnover in the previous 12 months of close to £5million.
“There was an extensive commissioning process for the contracts, which have been designed in consultation with carers,” the council claimed.
It has been suggested that Carers First, as a larger organisation, was able to under-bid for the work previously carried out in Croydon by the Whitgift Foundation, work which enabled the Foundation to operate the Carers’ Centre.
And the council claimed: “The consultation and co-design of the new service with carers highlighted that they wanted a new approach to the delivery of support services to carers.”
Yet service-users at the Carers’ Centre say that they had no idea that any such consultation was ever taking place. “This feels like gas-lighting by the council, telling us that we have asked for changes when no such thing has ever happened,” one carer told Inside Croydon.
“So when they get rid of a well-established and much-respected centre that is well-used, the council seems to want to blame the people they are supposed to support.”
Another carer, a parent who looks after their adult son and daughter with disabilities, said that they attend the carers’ café weekly in the Centre “where carers are able to support each other and avoid the isolation which is a major cause of mental health issues along with the responsibilities we carry”.
They said: “It’s a shame that the council has suggested that the carers are not happy with the centre and that we have been consulted. This is news to me as I was never consulted about this.
“I am shocked, saddened and worried about what this will mean for us if there is no local support for us, a base in central Croydon, and face-to-face support.
“It’s important that we have people we can turn to who know us and know where to point us in times of need, which is almost weekly for all of us.”
A council source has suggested that the changes in service provision are likely the result of work conducted by Newton, consultants hired in as part of the “Future Croydon” programme backed by Mayor Jason Perry and his chief executive, Katherine Kerswell, in efforts to cut further costs from the cash-strapped council.
The Newton contract, according to a Freedom of Information response, cost Croydon Council £1million.
“Isaac Newton was a genius at what he did,” the Katharine Street source said. “With this lot, we wouldn’t be so sure.”
Like the council, the Whitgift Foundation has had to absorb a series of financial shocks in the past few years. The closure of the Carers’ Centre on George Street comes as staff and pupils at the nearby Old Palace School prepare for the final few months of lessons and activities before that Croydon institution is forced to close, too.
Said a source based at the Foundation’s offices in the ancient almshouses across the road from the Carers’ Centre: “It will be a tough few weeks. We’re hoping we can do our bit to help the transition as much as possible – and help carers and staff get a bit more certainty around the new offer.”
The council says that the new services are due to begin on April 1.
“The Carers Strategy 2024-2029 supports the Executive Mayor’s priorities of allowing people to lead healthier and independent lives for longer, as well as ensuring children and young people in Croydon have the chance to thrive, learn and fulfil their potential,” the council press release blathered.
And they quoted Perry as saying: “Life-long carers are the glue that hold families together and we recognise the vital role they have in our community. It is essential that carers have the health and wellbeing support needed.
“We have been working closely with carers and our partners to create our Croydon Carers Strategy 2024-2029 and the awarding of these three new contracts.”
Is it safe to come out now?: Mayor Jason Perry claims that the changes to carers’ support is what carers have asked for
And Perry claimed: “There will be no loss of service to carers and we are working in close partnership with both John Whitgift Foundation and Carers First to ensure there is a seamless transition for Croydon carers.”
The Carers’ Centre thus becomes the latest victim of cuts by the cash-strapped council, which is £1.4billion in debt and last week went to the government seeking a £136million bail-out for the next financial year.
Residents’ Council Tax will be going up from April, to almost £2,500 a year for a Band D household, the second-highest in London.
Jason Perry, the Mayor of Croydon, last month approved an increase in his pay to £84,000 per year (plus the £10,000 that does not appear in his declarations register, which he receives from London Councils), while the council’s most senior staff also got a wage hike, with Katherine Kerswell, 63, the council chief executive since 2020, now on £204,000 pa.
Read more: Carers ‘devastated’ as new council deal sees ‘sanctuary’ close
Read more: Council Tax hits £2,500 per year as debts continue to mount
Read more: Croydon In Crisis: budget overspend now close to £100m
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It is absolutely disgusting that they are paying 1 million pounds to a consulting firm to do cuts to the community and have the cheek to award themselves pay rise when all they create is havoc and misery and have done nothing for Croydon but make it worse.
its a shame they should have spent a million pounds when carers and the care centre used the service had been run with no complaints or problems I can’t trust this council’s decisions any more.
I am dumbfounded it’s just spend spend spend it’s not Littlewoods pools money