Council opposition makes call for investigation into the collapse of multi-million-pound contract, as charity placed in charge of home says council report does not ‘accurately reflect’ events.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
The Labour opposition group at Croydon Town Hall has demanded that Mayor Jason Perry set up a “fast-track” and independent inquiry into how his council was forced to cancel a £8.6million contract with a care provider less than six months after the children’s home was opened.
They are also seeking “urgent reassurance” that failings highlighted by a report from a senior council official have been properly addressed.
And the St Christopher’s Fellowship, the charity which was to be paid £1.2million per year to manage the home, has hit back saying that the official council report recommending the cancellation of the contract, includes, “a number of points… [that] do not accurately reflect the service we delivered”.
St Christopher’s maintain that there was a registered manager in place from Day One, and that the home “was staffed from the outset, supported where necessary through our wider workforce arrangements”, in direct contradiction of the reasons given by the council for ending the arrangement.
Inside Croydon reported last week that the council had decided to give notice on the seven-year deal due to “concerns regarding the outcomes experienced by children placed by the council at the home”. According to Croydon Council officials, “All children had moved from stable arrangements … into situation[s] that subsequently resulted in placement breakdowns and hospital admissions.”
The use of the council-owned property as a four-room children’s home was as part of cost-cutting measures under Mayor Perry’s”Stabilisation Plan”, but the project ran into delays over Ofsted inspection and registration, and did not accept its first resident until April this year.
Happy families: Mayor Perry was keen to take credit when the children’s home was opened, with St Christopher’s CEO, Jonathan Whalley, wielding the ceremonial scissors
The St Christopher’s Fellowship is a major charity and leading provider of non-profit social care across the country.
There has been no information on whether the council will be deducting payments for service failure.
According to a Katharine Street source, “The lengthy delays in its opening could have placed council managers under pressure to proceed.”
Savings at risk: this report from Perry’s Dec 2025 cabinet shows that £100,000 of savings by were at risk for the 2025-2026 financial year
A report to Perry’s council cabinet in December 2025 showed that the savings promised from the children’s services budget listed as “red”, meaning that the promised savings were rated as at risk of not being achieved.
Labour councillor Stuart King, the leader of the largest group at the Town Hall, said: “I am shocked and appalled that the council has failed young people in its care in this way.
“The outcome for some of these young people was admission to hospital. The council must answer charges that it has failed young people in its care and provide urgent reassurance that these failings have been properly addressed.
“This assurance can only be provided by the commissioning of a fast-track independent inquiry, which I am calling on Mayor Perry to immediately announce.”
St Christopher’s, meanwhile, has issued a statement in which it says: “We are… mindful that a recent Ofsted visit did not openly highlight any major concerns and await the full report, which will be publicly available in due course.”
The charity’s chief executive, Jonathan Whalley, is in discussions with Croydon Council, “setting out in detail where we believe its account is inaccurate or lacks important context”.
- Click here to read the statement from the St Christopher’s Fellowship
- Click here to see the council’s contract termination report
Read more: Council cancels £8.6m children’s home contract after 6 months
Read more: Perry advertises for office manager to be paid £43 PER HOUR
Read more: Firm behind £60m Purley Pool project goes into administration
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