Just who are the Commissioners named today by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to have been appointed with the task of steering Croydon Council off the rocks of toxic debt and crass mismanagement?

Last month, local government minister Jim McMahon announced that the MHCLG is “minded” to send in Commissioners to take over the running of Croydon Council, following a highly critical report from the improvement and assurance panel which had been overseeing the council’s management for five years.

The improvement panel had reported that spending at the council under Mayor Perry and CEO Kerswell was “runaway”.

Croydon has debts of £1.4billion, with almost all involved in agreement that the council’s position is “unsustainable” without some kind of rescheduling or write-off of the debt.

Commissioner: Ged Curran

In his statement last month, McMahon spoke about a “rapid reset” under the Commissioners at Croydon Council, with reports expected after six months and then after nine months, although the appointment would be for two years.

Lead commissioner will be Ged Curran, who was the chief executive at Merton Council for 17 years, until 2021, and was recently among the team of Commissioners trying to fix another basketcase council, in Slough.

Curran, trained as a solicitor, has held senior roles at board level in Newham, Waltham Forest and from 1996 to 2004 at Lambeth Council, where it is understood he worked with then councillor Steve Reed during a period when he was leader of the Town Hall opposition.

Commissioner: Jackie Belton

Jackie Belton has been “Commissioner 6” at Birmingham City Council since October 2023, where her brief was to look at the second city’s housing services.

As a Commissioner working under the government’s top  troubleshooter Max Caller, Belton was entitled to fees of £1,100 per day for up to 150 days per year.

Upon her appointment, Belton resigned from the job as chief executive at Conservative-controlled Bexley Council, where she had worked since 2019, and had her own experience of seeking government bail-outs, though on a far more modest scale.

Belton had previously held senior positions at Lambeth (2015-2018), Newham and Camden.

Commissioner: Debbie Warren

Debbie Warren has been chief executive of Greenwich council since December 2018, having previously worked as the authority’s finance chief.

According to the always-excellent Greenwich Wire: “Warren is well-liked across the council and is respected for her handling of the council’s finances during a time of unprecedented cuts in government funding.”

In today’s announcement, minister McMahon said that he was still considering whether to also install a “political adviser” – someone more aligned to the politics of Croydon’s elected Tory Mayor, and able to whisper sweet nothings in his ear to assure him that he really will have to do the Commissioners’ bidding, whether he likes it or not.

Political adviser: Abi Brown

According to sources inside Fisher’s Folly, the Commissioners had already been added to the council’s email network by lunchtime.

That strongly suggests that Croydon’s political enforcer is to be Councillor Abi Brown, the former leader of Stoke City Council and now the deputy leader of the Tory group on the Local Government Association.

Brown describes herself as “smart, pragmatic and passionate about her place”, and a “local government enthusiast”.

Wait till she meets Perry…

Read more: Minister McMahon orders in Commissioners to run council
Read more: Mayor coming under pressure to sack council CEO Kerswell
Read more: From tantrum to grovel, Perry shifts posture for Commissioners
Read more: Agency spend scandal: Perry blasted for ‘ridiculous shambles’

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