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Category Archives: Children’s Services
Government to pay £2.3m of borough’s asylum children’s costs
The Home Office will pay an additional £2.3million to Croydon this year to cover the rising costs to the borough of being a first stop in this country for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The cash-strapped borough last month threatened to copy … Continue reading
Croydon warns Whitehall it will end taking child asylum-seekers
Just as the US-backed government in Afghanistan collapsed under assault from the Taliban, with potentially tens of thousands of people urgently seeking refuge outside their homeland, so Croydon Council has announced that it will refuse to take any more unaccompanied … Continue reading
Flemming forced to drop plan to close two children’s centres
The council has been forced to back down from cost-cutting proposals, including closures, that will have impacted thousands of the borough’s children and the families. The council wanted to reduce its spend on its Best Start Children’s Centres by £1million … Continue reading
Ofsted discover ‘worrying signs’ of cuts on children’s services
Inspectors from Ofsted have warned that some of the borough’s most vulnerable children may be put at greater risk as a consequence of cuts and redundancies caused by the council’s financial collapse. Ofsted inspectors last month carried out their latest … Continue reading
Volunteer self-funds kids’ summer club after council delays
EXCLUSIVE by SANJANA IDNANI A community volunteer in West Croydon has been left thousands of pounds out of pocket because of delays by the council in handing over a promised government grant towards the costs of running a children’s summer … Continue reading
Summer’s lunch and activity clubs available for children
Thousands of Croydon children who qualify for free school meals can sign up for free activity clubs offering healthy meals over the summer holidays. Open to children aged from five to 16, Croydon’s programme is on offer at more than … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Schools
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, free school meals, summer activity clubs
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£50m shortfall in Home Office payments for asylum children
The council says that the government has underpaid it by around £50million, money which it says is owed for taking care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who arrive in the UK in Croydon. The council claims that over the past decade … Continue reading
£1m cuts to children’s centres aimed at south of borough
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The cash-strapped council waited until the week after the London elections and local by-elections to reveal its latest plans for swingeing cuts to children’s services. PAUL WADDELL, right, says residents ought not allow this to happen without a … Continue reading
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 Chris Buss, Clive Betts MP, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Panel, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, S114, Section 114, Tony McArdle
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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 Chris Buss, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Tory
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£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 Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement Panel, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Margaret Lee, Phil Brookes, S114, Section 114, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
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‘Joseph Heller could use Croydon as a sequel to Catch 22’
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The row between the Labour council and Tory government over the possible costs of staging a mayoral referendum has got loyal reader IAN KIERANS crunching some numbers Is it really £1million additional costs to stage a referendum over … Continue reading
Council ‘too quick to pass the buck’ over child abuse claims
Local Government Ombudsman orders Croydon to conduct an audit of child sexual abuse cases going back three years, after the authority’s response to a draft report ‘suggests wider systemic issues’ Croydon’s children’s services department may have “systemic” errors, according to … Continue reading
Woman charged with murdering her son worked for council
The mother of two-year-old Kyrell Matthews, who died at his Thornton Heath home in October 2019 after suffering 39 fractures, had been employed by Croydon Council… working with children in care. Inside Croydon has confirmed that Phylesia Shirley was a … Continue reading
Kerswell’s management savings plan: no change at the top
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Staff, unions and residents expected to react angrily to the council’s £193,000 interim CEO’s plan to make only minor changes to the staff on the biggest salaries at Fisher’s Folly. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell’s plan … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Debbie Jones, Elaine Jackson, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Jones, Elaine Jackson, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa
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‘Startling’ findings in Ombudsman report on children in care
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s dilemma over cutting funding to the children’s services department has been highlighted by a report which says that youngsters in care are being let down by local authorities A report published by the Local Government … Continue reading
Council survey on cuts tries to pass the buck to residents
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The people running the borough, whether executive staff on sky-high salaries or elected councillors, have a well-earned reputation for failing to listen to the people they are supposed to serve. So why should residents expect any difference … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, SEND
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, S114, Section 114
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Criticism mounting around council’s £800 per day director
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The team of social workers which helped to drag the council’s children’s services department from an Ofsted rating of ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Good’ is breaking up, with increasing concern for the youngsters in the care of the local … Continue reading
Fears over children’s services as another director quits council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Staff worry that an exodus of colleagues will desert bankrupt council before the worst of the cuts bite. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES Nick Pendry, Croydon’s director of early help and children’s social care, is to follow his … Continue reading
‘Mistakes will be made’ warn staff after latest round of cuts
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Libraries to close, refuse dumps to close, while elderly, disabled and mental health services are to be cut. Even buses for SEND schoolchildren face the axe. Yet the council’s ‘renewal plan’ will still spend £37m more in … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Refuse collection, Sarah Hayward, Section 114 notice
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Renewal Plan, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Sarah Hayward, Section 114
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Officials to investigate possible wrong-doing at council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Selflessness. Integrity. Objectivity. Accountability. Openness. Honesty. Truthfulness. Leadership. The Nolan Principles in public office are at last to be used as a test of the council’s leaders. By STEVEN DOWNES An investigation into whether disciplinary action should … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Local Government Association, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
12 Comments
The cuts: Fisher’s Folly to be sold and 3-weekly bin collections
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The problem facing Croydon Council as it seeks to balance its books is that, after a decade of Tory austerity, there’s precious little left to cut. STEVEN DOWNES reports The frustration with the slow pace of progress … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Alisa Flemming, Andrew Fisher, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Lisa Taylor, Refuse collection, Report in the Public Interest, Schools, Section 114 notice, Timothy Godfrey
Tagged Alisa Flemming, Andrew Fisher, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Timothy Godfrey, Tory
11 Comments
Croydon joins 27 London boroughs offering half-term meals
Croydon yesterday became one of 28 London boroughs to defy the Tory government and arrange for those children who normally receive free school meals to continue to be fed over the half-term holiday. No formal announcement has been made on … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Schools
Tagged Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Marcus Rashford, Paul Scully MP, Tory
7 Comments
The Audit Report: ‘Tony Newman always has been a coward’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: More senior council figures could lose their positions as a result of the Report in the Public Interest which was released last night, as the Town Hall politicians take stock of its consequences. KEN LEE reports Half … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Karen Jewitt, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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Council had ‘corporate blindness’ and ignored warnings
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Auditors step in with damning Report in the Public Interest over the way in which the council’s finances had been mishandled. By STEVEN DOWNES Council staff were summoned into a meeting at barely 10 minutes notice this … Continue reading
