Here is the full text of Mayor Jason Perry’s letter to Secretary of State Angela Rayner, in response to the announcement that the government is ‘minded’ to send in Commissioners to manage Croydon’s ‘runaway’ finances
I am writing in response to your department’s recent announcement that you are “minded to” appoint Commissioners to Croydon Council owing to our financial situation. Whilst we fully acknowledge the challenges the council has faced, I must express serious concern that this
announcement does not adequately take into consideration the substantial progress we have made, the difficult decisions we have already implemented, nor provide any solution for restoring financial sustainability.
Since 2020, Croydon Council has delivered savings of £167million, with an additional £50million planned for this financial year. We have generated over £210million in capital receipts, with a further £68million of sales planned. In 2023, we made the unprecedented and politically difficult decision to raise Council Tax by 14.99%, 10% above the cap, directly responding to the Improvement and Assurance Panel’s (IAP) recommendation to close the financial gap.
We have also launched a fully funded four-year transformation programme aimed at reducing the operating costs and placing the council on a sustainable long-term footing.
Begging letter: at least someone remembered to put the date on this time
These actions reflect the seriousness with which we have approached our financial responsibilities and our commitment to protecting local services and our residents. The recently agreed Stabilisation Plan now looks to deliver this work harder and faster generating a further £27.3million savings over the next year.
Since October 2022, and since the IAP’s exit strategy was published, it has been the accepted position that the full solution to restoring financial sustainability to our budget lies outside of the council’s control, rather than the council is incapable of tackling and controlling its finances.
The IAP have full powers of direction, but at no point have the IAP or the department issued formal instruction directing the council to take further steps. The council has implemented every piece of advice and guidance given by the IAP. This absence of intervention must be viewed as tacit recognition that we have been doing everything possible within the framework provided.
You reference the Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge which recognises the strides that this authority has made to rectify the financial and governance irregularities of the past. It, therefore, seems puzzling that the Peer Challenge could be regarded as an indication that commissioners are required.
The decision to consider Commissioner intervention now, despite the improvements delivered, risks undermining the local leadership and staff who have worked tirelessly under immense pressure. It also risks disregarding the efforts of a council that has been transparent, cooperative, and proactive throughout its recovery journey.
The government’s position appears to be based on the IAP’s final letter, dated the 25th April 2025. Croydon Council disputes several of its conclusions and has raised formal concerns with the department regarding its content and compliance with statutory guidance. I attach copies of this letter and annex that have been sent for your consideration.
You will see the council is recommending a best value review in light of the omissions in the advice to you from the IAP, in order to develop a sustainable path to balancing the council’s finances.
‘Decimated’: Jason Perry
You will also recall that I wrote to you on the 1st May, following the IAP’s letter, to propose a new way of working going forward. Namely, an independent financial assessment, the establishment of an external assurance board, and the maintenance and strengthening of existing financial assurance mechanisms, through bodies such as the LGA.
It is clear that you are working hard to reset the relationship between central and local government, and I welcome the opportunity this presents for a more constructive and collaborative approach. It is in that spirit that I hope we can continue to build mutual trust and shared purpose, grounded in the progress Croydon has made and our commitment to continued improvement.
I urge you to reconsider the proposed course of action in light of the facts presented and to continue working constructively with the council and its leadership to deliver for the people of Croydon.
As the elected Mayor of Croydon, my administration has always put the needs of Croydon residents first and will continue to do so. I will not standby [sic] and allow the decimation of our home borough because of the past actions of the reckless few.
- Click here for the first appendix to Perry’s letter to Rayner
- Click here for the second appendix to Perry’s letter to Rayner
Read more: Panicked Perry admitted to Rayner: I can’t balance the budget
Read more: Kerswell’s ‘Stabilisation Plan’ has failed before it is approved
Read more: McMahon acts after serious concerns on ‘aspects of leadership’
Read more: Borrowing plan would lead to council’s ‘collapse’ says report
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Piss-Poor Perry is six feet under already…..but still digging !
Yes it lies out of your control. So please can you leave the room and stop claiming your income as a purely Ceremonial Mayor. That will save as much as cutting back the Lollipop and Voluntary Carers Service together.
“the past actions of the reckless few”. If Perry was honest, he’d admit to being one of them
Gosh – this is a first! Letting Perry speak for himself. Smart move thanks
It really isn’t a first. We often publish what Perry says when it is obvious bollocks. We just don’t provide a platform for his self-aggrandising lies.
This is a useful document though: a political suicide note. It’s piss-poor Perry’s admission of failure
You think he wrote that himself?
It has Kerswell’s sticky mitts all over it.