CROYDON IN CRISIS: Claims made by the chief executive and executive Mayor over how other London boroughs manage their appointments systems have been found to be exaggerated and simply untrue
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

Trouble with numbers: Mayor Jason Perry’s claims simply do not add up

Jason Perry has deliberately misled residents over the closure to the public of Access Croydon by trying to claim that the new appointments-only system to visit council staff is common at other London boroughs.

When announcing the closure of Access Croydon to the public earlier this month, Katherine Kerswell, the council’s £204,000 chief exec, said that the move was “in line with local authorities across London”.

On the council’s website, this is phrased slightly differently, saying that it “is in line with many London councils”.

But how many is “many”? Croydon Council has refused to say.

Inside Croydon asked the council to detail which other councils have an appointments-only system. The council’s propaganda department has never responded to this question.

But as if by magic, Mayor Perry – catchphrase “Listening to Croydon” – issued an official letter seeking to justify making his council even more remote from the public it is supposed to serve.

“These changes to Access Croydon are part of the council’s action to protect local services by becoming more efficient,” Perry wrote.

Blocked out: Fairfield Greens Paul Ainscough, Ria Patel (centre) and Esther Sutton are among the thousands to protest against the closure of Access Croydon

“The appointments system will enable the council to triage and prioritise demand appropriately.” Perry forgot to mention that Access Croydon, in the pre-appointment-only days, already had a system that prioritised cases as they arrived at the council offices.

Later in his letter, Perry made the false claim that his appointment-only system “is in line with neighbouring councils like Lambeth, Haringey, Wandsworth, Southwark, Bromley and Sutton”.

Inside Croydon checked Perry’s statement. It is untrue.

According to officials and the websites at Sutton and Southwark councils, neither of them operates an appointments-only system as Perry claimed.

So, far from Kerswell’s claim that appointments-only is “in line with local authorities across London”, Croydon’s elected Mayor could name only six councils out of London’s 33 local authorities where such systems exist. And two of those were made up.

Croydon’s new policy of blocking its own residents at its doors, therefore, means this borough is in fact out of step with 28 other London boroughs.

The switch to the appointments=only system has all been a bit of an organisational shambles, too, just as you might have predicted.

In the first days, it was “Chaos”, according to more than one council insider.

And within two days of the new system, Kerswell was forced to issue a warning to staff about their conduct when entering or leaving the building. Tempers had become so frayed, security staff had become targets for abuse.

Chaos: £204,000 per year CEO Katherine Kerswell has presideded over the shambolic closure of Access Croydon

And people arriving at the council offices to seek emergency accommodation after being rendered homeless were being redirected to Central Library, to use one of their computers to register for an appointment in order to… register that they are homeless.

Some sameday appointments are available at the council’s offices, although the council has never made clear how many, or how these are prioritised.

“I assume it will lead to staff reductions at some point. It is all about delivering the new target operating model: a self-service, virtual council, where you get to talk to a half-baked AI,” one angry member of staff said.

In 2024, Kerswell oversaw a council spend of £6.4million on outside consultants, seeking their advice on… how to make more cuts.

Meanwhile, from next week, Croydon’s Council Tax will have gone up by 27% since Jason Perry became Mayor. The council’s debts remain at £1.4billion. Croydon, under Perry, has recently sought, and been granted, special financial support from the government for the next financial year of £136million – a record amount.

Pay more. Get less.

Read more: They voted to raise your Council Tax, then to increase their pay
Read more: Government grants Perry’s record £136m council bail-out plea
Read more: Council Tax hits £2,500 per year as debts continue to mount
Read more: Top Tory admits Fairfield Halls could be sold for the right deal

• Inside Croydon has moved to Bluesky. Click here to join us there for latest updates and insights
• Check out our archive of podcasts on Spotify, including our monthly news discussion panel show thingy, the Croydon Insider, and The Andrew Fisher Interview

Inside Croydon – If you want real journalism, delivering real news, from a publication that is actually based in the borough, please consider paying for it. Sign up today: click here for more details

• If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com

• As featured on Google News Showcase

• We offer FREE ads to community groups when they have members who are paid subscribers to Inside Croydon

• Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here

• Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network