CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Perry accused of ‘shallow hypocrisies’ as the borough’s carers question whether council has conducted proper equalities impact assessments over the switch of contracts from local charities
Saving a few bob: as CEO Katherine Kerswell and Mayor Jason Perry decided to cut contracts for carer service providers, they were awarding themselves huge pay rises
A petition set up by users and supporters of the Croydon Carers’ Centre is close to reaching its target of 1,000 signatures, enough to force Mayor Jason Perry to face a public debate in the Town Hall over his decision to hand chunks of the borough’s carers’ budget to companies based outside the borough.
Inside Croydon broke the news last week that the Croydon Carers’ Centre on George Street is to close, after the Whitgift Foundation, which manages the centre, lost its contract with the council to provide certain services for carers.
The centre has been helping hard-pressed families in the borough for more than a decade. It is due to close on March 14, after Croydon Council, following advice from their £1million consultants, opted to break provision for carers into three parts, with adult carers’ assessments now to be provided by Carers First.
By losing this service contract, the Whitgift Foundation is no longer able to afford to operate the George Street centre. Croydon Council claims that its new contracts will somehow “deliver enhanced support for Croydon’s carers”.
Hundreds of people who have signed the protest petition do not agree.
On the Change.org website, Jackie Arnold, who organised the petition, says, “For me, and for countless other carers, both young and adult, the Carers’ Centre has been a critical lifeline. It was there when I needed advice, it was there when I required assistance with benefit forms, and it was there when I sought a free bereavement counselling course.”
Arnold describes the café at the centre as “a respite room that provides us with a few hours to talk, socialise, share our stories and experiences with other carers – it’s more than just a café for us”.
Solidarity: hundreds of Croydon residents are signing the petition every day
And she continues: “Time and again, the Centre has proven its worth and value. It’s deeply concerning that its future hangs in the balance without any consultation with those it directly assists, all in an effort by Croydon Council to save costs.
“I urge the council to reconsider this decision. We can’t afford to lose a well-loved and well-utilised resource like the Carers’ Centre. The carer community requests the Croydon Council to ensure the continued operation of this vital centre.
“The voices of those who depend on it deserve to be heard.”
Arnold raises a potentially significant point regarding lack of consultation, and the rapid speed at which the contract changes are being rushed through.
Another Croydon-based charity that has been brushed aside by Mayor Perry’s council, as it seeks to save a few bob, is Croydon Mencap. At the weekend, they posted a message to their followers that revealed that they, too, had effectively been dumped as a carers’ service provider to the council, at very short notice.
From April 1, they wrote, “Croydon Mencap will temporarily be providing a smaller carers’ support service… as our funding from the council’s current contractual arrangement finishes.
“We are actively seeking alternative funding to continue supporting lifelong carers of adults with learning disabilities in the fullest way possible, subject to funding.”
As well as the abrupt, short notice, some working in the sector are asking whether Croydon Council has conducted any equality or health impact assessments, as the local authority would be required to do by law.
There are further criticisms of the council’s decision, with corporate Carers First being regarded as a national organisation, with no local connections.
Katie Rose, a musician and singing coach who has often staged choir sessions at the Carers’ Centre, is among those freelancers who will be losing work because of the closure.
“Having worked in the centre leading singing sessions for 10 years, I have witnessed first-hand the difference the service makes to carers,” Rose told Inside Croydon.
“I have seen people arrive in tears and walk out smiling after receiving a warm welcome, personalised advice and information to help them navigate their caring role.
“I was among staff and carers who received the news of the centre’s impending closure in stunned disbelief at the devastating decision and the cavalier, callous manner in which has been executed.
“Having spent 10 years listening to the beautiful voices of the unsung heroes of our community, I stand in solidarity with their protests in this moment of grief and dismay.”
And Rose says: “Vulnerable people are footing the bill for gross financial mismanagement… Destroying successful long-term projects with proven outcomes undercuts the roots of community. As unpaid carers contribute an estimated £162billion to the UK economy, depriving carers of support impoverishes the wider society.”
Rose is very critical of the nature of the council’s contract switch, calling it “brutal” and “rushed”.
She says, “No attempt has been made to ensure a healthy handover or continuity of service. There has been no official public consultation of carers or centre users to evidence the need to change the provider.
“The rushed timescale suggests a lack of due diligence in evaluating the new service and constitutes a safeguarding risk to existing users of the Carers’ Centre.”
Rose even suggested that Mayor Perry is breaking his own “business plan”, of which he is so fond, by hiring in a national company in preference to a proven and successful local model.
“This suggests that the decision has been made by those who are moving figures on spread sheets rather than those who actually care, understand and actively engage with the vulnerable people in our borough,” Rose said.
“The assurances given to carers by Mayor Jason Perry whilst visiting the centre, based on his own lived experience, now appear to be shallow hypocrisies.”
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: ‘Council is gas-lighting us over support services’ say carers
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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Why don’t Croydon council mayor and his cabinet
Members cut the wages.
People’s are struggling in Croydon Hungry paying bills
Buying food etc. they seemed don’t care for citizens
Of Croydon.
Unfortunately there are always empty promises from our government and Croydon are going downhill.