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Category Archives: Adult Social Care
Gove’s extra cash barely touches the sides of Croydon’s debts
Michael Gove’s £600m hand-out to local authorities in England, announced yesterday, won’t go very far, especially if you consider that the Government’s own expert panel reckons Croydon alone needs £540m to wipe out a chunk of its toxic debt. By … Continue reading
Posted in 2024 General Election, Adult Social Care, Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Andrew Fisher, Conservative, Council Tax, Councils in Crisis, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Department for Levelling UP Housing and Communities, Jason Cummings, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Local Government Association, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Tory
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Council loaned Brick by Brick additional £47.3m last year
CROYDON IN CRISIS: In its latest report to Michael Gove, the Government’s improvement panel reveals a £38m hole in cash-strapped council budgets for the next four years – and repeats plea for unprecedented half-a-billion pounds loan write-off Croydon’s cash-strapped council … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, £540m debt write off, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Department for Levelling UP Housing and Communities, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Tony McArdle, Tory
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Cash-strapped council recruits £1m-worth of bean-counters
CROYDON IN CRISIS: While council chief exec Katherine Kerswell prepares to impose another £31m-worth of cuts, the council is recruiting SIX ‘heads of strategic finance’ to tally the money that they don’t have. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE … Continue reading
Perry struggles with numbers to offer us: Pay More, Get Less
Our columnist ANDREW FISHER watched the Croydon Council budget webcast this week, so that you wouldn’t have to… Croydon’s very own answer to Laurel and Hardy took to the airwaves this week, as Conservative Mayor Jason Perry and his finance … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, 2024 Council Budget, Adult Social Care, Andrew Fisher, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jane West, Jason Cummings, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory
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Backlash against Hunt as Tory-run councils feel the squeeze
Malign neglect of local government after 13 years of savage spending cuts has created an ‘existential threat’ to council services. ‘Things are starting to fall apart at the seams,’ warns a Tory source “Flagship” Conservative-run county councils could suffer financial … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, London Councils, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged Chancellor of the Exchequer, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jeremy Hunt, Labour, LGA, Local Government Association, London, Mayor Jason Perry, Northamptonshire, S114, S114 notice, Section 114 Notice, Thurrock Council, Tory, Woking Borough Council
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We are witnessing the long, slow death of local government
‘We are staring into an abyss here, and it’s time we faced up to it’. Those were the words of a Conservative councillor in Croydon – in 2013. Here, ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, says that faced with austerity on a … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Andrew Fisher, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, SEND
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Andrew Fisher, CIPFA, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Hastings, Lambeth, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Northumberland, Nottingham, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Slough, Thurrock, Tim Pollard, Tory, unemployment, Woking
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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 Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Slough Borough Council, Thurrock Council, Tory
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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
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
‘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
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
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 Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West, Alisa Flemming, Brick by Brick, Broad Green, Callton Young, Clive Fraser, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Karen Jewitt, Labour, Maddie Henson, Manju Shahul Hameed, Sean Fitzsimons, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE, Stuart Collins, STUART KING, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross
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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
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
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 Council Tax, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Michael Gove, Tony McArdle
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‘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
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
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 Andrew Fisher, Conservative, Council Tax, Council Tax Support, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Housing and Communities, MHCLG, Michael Gove, Tory
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‘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
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
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 Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Richard Ennis, Section 114, Tory
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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
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 Callton Young, Conservative, coronavirus, Council budget, Covid-19, Croydon, Croydon Council, DEMOC, Democratically Elected Mayor for Croydon, Hamida Ali, Labour, Purley, Purley Pool, Richard Ennis, Save Purley Pool Campaign, Section 114, Steve Reed OBE, STUART KING, Tory
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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 Croydon, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Welfare rights
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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 Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Panel, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, Tony McArdle, Urban Splash
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