CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Jason Perry and CEO Katherine Kerswell’s decision to make access to the council’s offices appointment-only may be in breach of the council’s legal responsibilities
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
No access Croydon: the council’s offices have been closed to the public
Letters have landed on the desks of Mayor Jason Perry and CEO Katherine Kerswell today demanding the immediate re-opening of Access Croydon.
The letters are signed by officials from nearly 30 charities and voluntary groups who work in Croydon, often with the vulnerable and the homeless.
“We demand that you reopen Access Croydon to enable Croydon’s vulnerable homeless residents to access the services that they are entitled to by law,” the letter says.
The signatories include Andrew Brown of the Croydon BME Forum, Jad Adams from Croydon Nightwatch, Michael Deas from the London Renters Union, Emma Gardiner from the South Norwood Community Kitchen and Patrick Marples from the South West London Law Centre, as well as Croydon Voluntary Action.
The borough’s two Green councillors, Ria Patel and Esther Sutton, have also signed the letter. There are no signatories from Croydon Labour, supposedly the largest opposition group on Croydon Council.
Signatory: Andrew Brown of Croydon BME Forum
Earlier this month, at barely one working day’s notice, Kerswell, the council’s £204,000 per year chief executive, announced that Access Croydon, the ground-floor level area where until now the public have been able to seek assistance with a range of council services, will become No Access Croydon.
Actual face-to-face access to council staff at the council building, sometimes known as Bernard Weatherill House, is no longer possible without a prior appointment.
“The changes to Access Croydon are part of the council’s action to protect local services for residents,” Kerswell claimed when announcing to staff the plans to close the council’s public meeting space to the public.
Within days, Kerswell was issuing warnings to staff over their conduct, as flashpoints around access to Fisher’s Folly had seen the building’s security staff suffer abuse from council workers.
People who have been forced to endure Kerswell and Perry’s new appointments-only system have described the scene at Fisher’s Folly in one word: “Chaos.”
Homeless people are being redirected away from the council offices to Croydon Central Library, where they are expected to queue to use one of the public computers so that they can… book an “emergency” appointment to see a member of council staff.
The authors of the letter say that the council’s decision to close Access Croydon to anyone who does not have a pre-booked appointment is “denying residents access to vital support”.
There are questions over whether the services as offered currently meets the council’s legal responsibilities, and suggestions that the council failed to conduct full equalities impact assessments over the radical, short-notice change in service, as they are legally required to do.
The letter’s authors write: “We are particularly concerned for residents who are homeless and will no longer be able to access support from the council unless they are able to complete an online form.
Signatory: Emma Gardiner, of the SNCK
“We know there are multiple barriers which may prevent this access such as digital exclusion, language barriers and reliable access to email accounts, to name only a few.
“All local authorities have a duty to carry out an assessment in all cases when an eligible applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. According to Section 103 of the 1996 Housing Act, ‘applications do not need to be in writing nor in any other particular form. As long as an application makes it clear they are seeking assistance, this constitutes a homelessness application’.
“Residents who are unable to access the [council’s online] self-help tool will be denied their right to a homelessness assessment if they are unable to present directly to Croydon Council.
“Currently, the wait time for a housing assessment via the self-help tool is four months, making it extremely unlikely for the council to effectively fulfil its duty to triage and assess homeless residents in a timely manner, particularly those at risk.
“This presents a serious safeguarding concern that is yet to be addressed.”
And the letter addresses Mayor Perry directly.
“In your 2022 Mayoral Election Manifesto you told the people of Croydon that, ‘You should be able to speak to a real person and I will make that option actually work. I will reopen the doors of the council offices to allow residents to speak directly to a real person’.
Yet last week you did the exact opposite.
“The voluntary sector in Croydon has been under extreme pressure to plug the gap created by Croydon Council’s financial mismanagement and subsequent erosion of services.
Signatory: Patrick Marples from the SWLLC
“The council cannot expect these same overstretched organisations to take on the work of Access Croydon in essentially providing a front desk for homelessness services as a cost-saving measure.
“We understand that emergency slots will be available but this has not been communicated widely, nor has the process been made clear regarding how residents can access these.”
And the letter includes a number of significant questions.
“We request that you confirm the following:
- How many emergency slots will be available every day?
- How can residents access these slots?
- Will these slots be solely for homelessness appointments or will they be for a range of council services?”
The letter concludes with one important demand.
“We demand that you reopen Access Croydon to enable Croydon’s vulnerable homeless residents to access the services that they are entitled to by law.”
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I have some questions.
You’d expect a decision involving a major change to how the Council delivers services to the public to only be made after a report to the people we elect. How was this decision actually made? Did Kerswell act without permission? Was it “ultra vires”, in English, a decision taken that went beyond her legal authority?
If there was a report, it would contain comments on the legal implications, to help councillors and/or the Mayor make sure the decisions they were about to make were legally sound. Was any legal risk assessment and commentary given? If so, to whom? If not, why not?
The Council has, according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, a squad of qualified lawyers who are SRA-regulated – it names all 15 of them. However, their manager is the Director of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer, whose name is Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense. His name seems to be missing from the SRA register. Why might that be?
The SRA website says “There are no disciplinary or regulatory decisions currently published about this firm” (the London Borough of Croydon). Given this latest balls-up, that could be about to change
The reason Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense doesn’t appear on the Solicitors Regulation Authority register is probably because he is trained as a barrister. So ultimately, his professional body is the Bar Council.
Although his last job before working for Croydon was as an estate agent.
Another fine mess from the gruesome twosome. Why didn’t they just leave things as they were ? The Council should be adapting to residents’needs in times of local emergencies and general advice and not the other way around.
I am pleased that organisations are contesting this ‘fortress Croydon Town Hall’ dreadful change and that Inside Croydon is publicising this and championing the rights of the public and the concept of public service.
Just on one nuance, if a homeless person manages the journey and procedure to send an email requesting an appointment,, via the library, if it is open, how do they then receive the response? By living on the streets and calling into the library, during opening hours, to ‘check their emails`?
This is of course about anyone and everyone who reasonably wishes to speak to the council reception or other departments, or inspect public notices, documents etc at their convenience and with their abilities.