Category Archives: Adult Social Care

Perry to preside over record-breaking 15% Council Tax hike

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough with one of the biggest Council Tax bills in London has just been given permission to make those bills even bigger. Much bigger. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon, under Tory Mayor Jason Perry, has been … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Council offers warm spaces – at libraries closed for Christmas

Cold-hearted Tory Mayor Jason Perry has, somewhat belatedly, got round to publicising a list of warm banks around the borough. But typically of the dysfunctional council, the listing of 34 venues is offered on its website, which is not accessible … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Charity, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, GLL - Better, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Council’s latest cuts force mental health services to close

CROYDON IN CRISIS: MP says the latest round of funding cuts to services delivered by mental health charity are ‘devastating’. By STEVEN DOWNES Mind in Croydon is to close two of its support services for people living with complex, long-term … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Charity, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Health, Mind in Croydon, Sarah Jones MP | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘Left alone by care home despite my Parkinson’s, I was scared’

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The council’s Social Services department recently paid £1,360 to a private healthcare provider, operated by a large charity, so that IAN BONE, pictured right, could stay in a home while his partner had some respite time. This is … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Care Homes, Charity, Croydon Council, Health, South Norwood, South Norwood Tourist Board | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Six council-run Extra Care schemes given ‘Good’ CQC rating

All six of Croydon Council’s Extra Care services – assisted accommodation homes – have been rated as “Good” following Care Quality Commission inspections. Extra Care facilities provide similar accommodation to sheltered housing, with residents living in their own self-contained homes … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Croydon Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mayor candidate Shawcross’s ‘new’ direction not so new at all

Any ‘clean break’ with the incompetence and graft of the past at Croydon Town Hall that is being offered by Labour Mayoral candidate Val Shawcross appears doomed by her own campaign’s deep-rooted connections with discredited Tony Newman and some of … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West, Alisa Flemming, Brick by Brick, Broad Green, Business, Callton Young, Children's Services, Chris Clark, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, David Evans, Fairfield Halls, Fly tipping, Hamida Ali, Humayun Kabir, Karen Jewitt, Maddie Henson, Manju Shahul Hameed, Meals on Wheels, Planning, Refuse collection, Sarah Jones MP, Schools, Sean Fitzsimons, SEND, Sherwan Chowdhury, Steve Reed MP, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross, Veolia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Labour axed Meals on Wheels service to save just £24,000

EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s Labour-run council will save the grand total of £24,000 per year by cutting its Meals on Wheels service to hundreds of vulnerable and elderly residents, Inside Croydon has discovered. As reported exclusively by this website … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Business, Callton Young, Charity, Community associations, Croydon Council, Janet Campbell, Meals on Wheels, Stuart King, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

22 jobs lost as Croydon axes Meals on Wheels ‘by stealth’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The cash-strapped council’s cuts are now hitting the elderly, the frail and the house-bound. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES Foodbanks, lunch clubs and charities across the borough, already hard-pressed by rising demand for their help, are furious with … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Business, Charity, Community associations, Croydon Council, Meals on Wheels | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Council looks to second postponement of budget meeting

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Town Hall chiefs still trying to negotiate another multi-million-pound government bail-out, with time running out to issue 136,000 Council Tax notices. By STEVEN DOWNES The council is on the brink of crashing into bankruptcy, unable to set … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Business, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Richard Ennis, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Our needs are being ignored’ say 86% of unpaid carers

Findings from a Carers Trust survey, published today, provide alarming evidence of a deep-rooted failure by successive governments to understand and meet the basic support needs of millions of people struggling to provide unpaid care for a family member or … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Charity | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Kerswell gets her fourth council finance chief in 12 months

Council correspondent KEN LEE reports on the latest bit of empire-building going on at Fisher’s Folly Croydon’s cash-strapped council, which over the past 18 months has been handing out P45s willy-nilly to hundreds of the low-paid front-line workers who grafted … Continue reading

Posted in Annette McPartland, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Richard Ennis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gove won’t ‘level up’ with an extra £1.50 per person per year

With the government’s settlement for local councils announced this week, our columnist ANDREW FISHER takes a look at what Michael Gove and his so-called ‘Levelling Up’ department is really offering “Billions more for councils to build back better” reads the … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Andrew Fisher, Callton Young, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

‘Magnificence of Croydon’: Town Hall video ignores the cuts

This video has been produced by Croydon Council to accompany a report from Croydon’s director of public health. In her first annual report since the covid-19 outbreak, Rachel Flowers praises Croydon residents, communities, schools and businesses for their continued strength … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Community associations, Croydon Council, CVA, Katherine Kerswell, Leisure services, Rachel Flowers | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ombudsman finds council caused ‘crisis’ for man with autism

The Local Government Ombudsman has found that Croydon Council failed to provide adequate support for a man with autism, causing a “crisis” for him and his family. The man’s mother claimed that the council’s lack of proper action led to … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Croydon Council | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mind the gap: finance director warns of £13m cuts shortfall

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tonight’s council cabinet meeting is to be told that officials are struggling to meet their £38m budget cuts target. And the council’s future is now in the hands of Michael Gove. By STEVEN DOWNES There are growing … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Croydon Council, Croydon NHS Trust, Health, Katherine Kerswell, Landlord licensing, Richard Ennis, Section 114 notice, Steve Iles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Tory austerity has been the cause of thousands of extra deaths

The Conservative Party’s ‘reckless’ and ‘ruthless’ policy over the last decade has seen life expectancy rates reversed and put 150 local authorities into deep financial difficulties Tory austerity over the last decade has been responsible for the deaths of tens … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Health, Property, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Further £38.4m to be sliced from next year’s council budget

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Town Hall leadership hoped to keep the latest round of cuts secret until after next week’s referendum, as the consequences of the borough’s bankruptcy start to hit home. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES £12m of adult social care … Continue reading

Posted in 2021 Mayor Referendum, Adult Social Care, Callton Young, Croydon Council, GLL - Better, Hamida Ali, Jason Cummings, Leisure services, Libraries, Purley Pool, Richard Ennis, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Council axes vital welfare rights service with no consultation

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council cuts keep coming, as now an advice team for the poor and disabled has been deemed not to be ‘an essential service’. By STEVEN DOWNES Thousands of Croydon’s poorest and most vulnerable seem certain to … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Croydon Council | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Government inspector’s concerns over BxB sweetheart deal

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jenrick’s improvement board raises serious questions over whether the quick sale of the council’s failed development company could end up costing tax-payers many millions of pounds, while its latest report criticises borough officials’ ‘lack of self-awareness’. By … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ali and Kerswell are summoned to Parliamentary inquiry

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘There is much that the council needs to do to become a properly functioning local authority’ says panel’s report to government, as it recommends more cuts to Croydon’s Adult Social Care and Children’s Services. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

28% – Newman leaves his Council Tax legacy to Croydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Town Hall reporter KEN LEE reports on how the £104 per year increase in residents’ bills adds up to a whole lot more over the course of the council’s Labour administration “This budget is an essential part … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Council Tax-payers pay for politicians’ game of cat-and-mouse

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The bankrupt borough is kept waiting for its bail-out, as cabinet reports reveal that council overspending has continued to soar. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Just when you thought things could not get any worse, Croydon Council’s … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Patsy Cummings, Paul Scott, Section 114 notice, TfL, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

£2,400 per day – the high cost of council’s ‘improvement’ panel

The annual cost of having Croydon officials’ work checked by Whitehall-appointed experts comes to ‘three-quarters of a Negrini’, as KEN LEE reports The Improvement Panel imposed on Croydon by the Tory government to check that the cash-strapped council is running … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

National government needs to take the adult social care burden

CROYDON COMMENTARY: After spending his career working in senior positions in the voluntary sector, RICHARD PACITTI (pictured left) says that if we funded adult social care differently, it would solve a lot of problems Most people are aware of the … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Charity, Croydon Council, Mind in Croydon | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Bankrupt borough could be left counting the cost of neglect

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Dangerously potholed roads, understaffed adult services, poorly maintained pavements… Many of the borough’s services were already badly run-down before the council’s financial collapse. TERRY McCARTHY believes there is real risk of the Town Hall incurring massive claims for … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Croydon Council, Fly tipping | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments