Council briefing document says Mayor wants to outsource borough’s widely admired adult education service as his latest cost-cutting wheeze.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
CALAT, the council-run Croydon Adult Learning and Training organisation, has effectively been evicted from its home in the council-owned Clocktower, amid growing fears that its education services are the next for the chop by the borough’s Mayor, Jason “Philistine” Perry.
The Town Hall Labour opposition has called for an urgent meeting with council bosses, saying that CALAT’s 500-or-so staff, their jobs at risk, are “angry” at the way the situation has been mismanaged.
“The Mayor’s already closed four public libraries in the borough,” a senior Katharine Street source told Inside Croydon. “He’s wasted millions on consultants, yet still can’t balance his budget.
“So for his next round of cuts, he’s looking at our leisure centres, the Fairfield Halls and CALAT. Given his incompetent track record since becoming Mayor, Perry seems in dire need of the kind of adult education courses provided by CALAT.”
CALAT is one of the country’s largest adult education providers. It has delivered part-time academic, vocational and recreational courses since around 1954. The slogan on the front page of its website is: “Change your life through learning.”
Today, CALAT offers around 500 courses, including GCSE English and Maths, English for speakers of other languages – vitally important in a diverse borough such as Croydon – as well as digital skills and vocational training in areas such as childcare and bookkeeping. CALAT also provides dedicated courses for adults with learning difficulties or disabilities.
Mission statement: CALAT courses generate tens of thousands of pounds in student fees every year
CALAT provides a service for which there is significant demand, and for which its clients are prepared to pay. Many of the courses cost hundreds of pounds. Some courses are delivered in association with employers and local businesses, who want to upskill their staff.
CALAT says it is being forced out of its town centre home “as part of the council’s transformation plans”. Yet CALAT, which receives funding from the Department for Education and Mayor of London as well as the council, pays significant amounts for its use of the cash-strapped council’s premises.
The council has been schtum about how it intends to make use of the space in the Clocktower once CALAT moves out next month – disruptive timing early in a new academic year. Opposition councillors claim that they have been denied any information about CALAT’s future by the borough’s Tory Mayor.
The council has not yet made an announcement about its plans to axe CALAT, nor has it prepared the groundwork with a public consultation, as might usually be expected. Katharine Street sources maintain that earlier in the summer they were advised that there would be a “key decision” brought before a council cabinet meeting in late September or October.
An internal briefing document from July and seen by Inside Croydon says that there are to be “changes” to the contracts for GLL – Greenwich Leisure Ltd, operators of Croydon’s leisure centres and Croydon Arena – and for the Fairfield Halls, which has been managed since 2019 by Bournemouth-based BH Live under an initial 10-year contract.
And the briefing document states: “Changes to adult learning delivery model to outsource.”
Notice to quit: despite contributing to the council’s income streams, CALAT is being forced out of its home next to the Town Hall
Council insiders suggest that Perry’s council is looking to off-load adult education in the same way that it did with the Carers’ Support Centre on George Street, a bungled transfer to a third-party private company, and a change in operation which has been much criticised by residents.
Under piss-poor Perry, Croydon Council’s debt has ballooned to £1.7billion. Yet after course fees and grants are received, CALAT costs the council only a modest amount. The council’s well-established adult education programme has long been a source of pride for Croydon, contributing significantly to the borough’s cultural scene.
CALAT is thought to employ more than 300 teaching staff and another 200 support staff. Many of those jobs are likely to be in peril if Perry’s outsource plan goes ahead.
In a statement published on the CALAT website, it states: “As part of the council’s transformation plans, CALAT have been asked to vacate Croydon Clocktower before the end of October.
“To ensure continuity for courses taking place at Croydon Clocktower we have begun the process of sourcing alternative venues. This means that your class will be moved to another venue locally at some point either before the start of class or during the term.
‘Angry’: Labour’s shadow cabinet member Brigitte Graham
“We will keep you informed and apologise for the inconvenience caused and sincerely hope this will not deter you from studying with CALAT. We are committed to making the transition as easy as we can for those affected.”
Inside Croydon understands that among the options being considered is for some classes to move to Strand House in Thornton Heath and the New Addington Library.
Brigitte Graham, a councillor for Woodside ward and the Town Hall Labour group’s shadow cabinet member for education, has called for an urgent briefing from senior council officials.
“The uncertain future of the service has left residents who have contacted me feeling uneasy,” Graham said.
“Staff members are angry and feeling dejected.
“The work that CALAT does is important and influential.
“We have not been informed of anything. I have asked for an urgent briefing.
“The Mayor needs to be clear and transparent with residents and staff about any plans he has for CALAT.”
Read more: Perry’s libraries legacy of unsigned leases and works not done
Read more: Booked! Mayor Perry deceives over destruction of library stock
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Read more: Perry drives a black cab through council’s consultation rules
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Now the council have so few staff, they have sublet large parts of the offices in Fisher’s Folly to other organisations, so perhaps Piss-Poor needs to use the CALAT classrooms and offices as space for his useless and expensive “consultants” to work?
This is appalling! Perry must go!
Can anyone give me an example of where privatisation of a service has resulted in it running better? This isn’t a rhetorical question, I’m genuinely interested in balance.
So we no longer get the social care or mental health services we need. And now Perry plans to outsource (& no doubt decimate} CALAT courses. CALAT is one of the few positive things that’s left in Croydon. Its courses provide important core English/Maths training, as well as the ESOL courses which are surely vital in a borough housing the Home Office. Its support for learners with additional needs is exceptional.
But don’t underestimate the value of cultural/”leisure” courses that so often address the social isolation and unmet mental health needs of so many of us. Croydon’s woeful financial status continues to erode the only things that make living in Croydon just about bearable.
Perry – stop self-publicising via photos & sound bytes & start GENUINELY listening to the citizens who pay your grossly-inflated salary.