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Category Archives: Children’s Services
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
5 Comments
‘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
17 Comments
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
5 Comments
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
Newman ally Ali tipped as favourite to be council’s new leader
WALTER CRONXITE on the lacklustre contest among Labour councillors to become the Town Hall’s new chief Croydon Council should have a new leader as soon as tomorrow night. But the appointment looks as if it could present the borough with … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Children's Services, Crime, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Paul Scott, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, Tony Newman, Woodside
Tagged Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Children's Services, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Hamida Ali, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Ofsted, Stuart Collins, Tony Newman
6 Comments
‘Are you joking?’ Two council staffers in Birthday Honours
MBEs have been awarded to two members of Croydon Council staff in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, announced overnight. Val Burrell-Walker, 57, who has been the council’s fair access manager for school pupils for the past 15 years, and Rashida Baig, … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Education, Schools
Tagged Children's Services, Rashida Baig, Val Burrell-Walker
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£800 per day exec director job goes to ‘naughty step’ Jones
The Tower Hamlets council official who was in charge of that borough’s schools when Shamima Begum and two other girls were radicalised and escaped to Syria to become “jihadi brides” has just been appointed by Croydon as the borough’s interim … Continue reading
Audit shows £9m shortfall in Hall’s property speculation deals
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Internal audit report will make very uncomfortable reading for the council leader and his finance chief, and shows worrying budget problems for most of the council-run schools. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor It is barely a week … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Business, Children's Services, Colonnades, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Jo Negrini, Karen Jewitt, Katherine Kerswell, Schools, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alissa Flemming, Croydon, Croydon Council, General Purposes and Audit Committee, GPAC, Jo Negrini, Karen Jewitt, Katerine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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400 job cuts – but council is recruiting exec on £800 PER DAY
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Simmering anger among staff who fear they may lose their jobs is likely to turn to fury when they realise that the council’s top-down cuts are leaving the executive floors barely touched. Exclusive by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon … Continue reading
Brick by Brick under ‘review’ in council emergency budget
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, reports on the publication of a 24-page document which is an admission of six years of failure, and which comes ahead of ‘the most difficult few months the council has seen’ Brick … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Emergency Budget, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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Children’s services suffers 30% cut in social workers
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Concerns are growing at Fisher’s Folly that cutbacks on hiring agency workers, implemented since January this year, could adversely impact some of the borough’s most vulnerable. KEN LEE reports Croydon Council’s children’s services department, which was given … Continue reading
Unison: ‘irresponsible’ job cuts will have ‘devastating impact’
Trade union officials have strongly criticised Croydon Council’s plans to axe more than 400 jobs, saying that the on-going review is being rushed through “with little thought” and without proper consultation, and describing the job cuts at the Labour-run local … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, Tony Newman, Unison, Yvonne Green
4 Comments
SEND campaigners fight on after Panorama revelations
A worried mum who has been fighting for her young son to receive the education he needs, and to which he is entitled, says that despite an 18-month battle with her local council, the situation for families of children with … Continue reading
