Category Archives: General Purposes and Audit Committee

No cover-up over £12m SEND overspend, claims council chief

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Town Hall bosses have been forced to accept 23 recommendations from external accountants after IT problems saw them lose track of thousands of payments, in the latest council cock-up that was described by a veteran Tory councillor … Continue reading

Posted in Amy Foster, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Croydon Council, Dr Ola Olasode, Education, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Ian Parker, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, SEND | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Council chief made mates’ rates payments at £726 per hour

Lack of proper governance over payments and ‘interims’ working at the council for up to five years raise further questions over ‘runaway’ spending for chief exec Kerswell and Mayor Jason Perry. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council’s chief executive Katherine … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Alasdair Stewart, Business, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Council accused of cover-up over multi-million agency spend

CROYDON IN CRISIS: LibDems’ election candidate has examined expenditure accounts and confirms that spending on temporary staff has risen to £53m per year under Tory Mayor. By STEVEN DOWNES  Richard Howard, the Liberal Democrat candidate standing for Croydon Mayor next … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Children's Services, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Howard, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Council’s agency staff bill includes £726 per hour consultant

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Council’s spending on agency staff has quadrupled under Tory Mayor Jason Perry One ‘transformation’ consultant is paid £726 PER HOUR Adecco employee allowed to sign off hundreds of thousands of pounds in Croydon Council payments to… … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Business, Children's Services, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Gone missing: Mayor ducks Town Hall cabinet for three months

EXCLUSIVE: Key public meetings have been cancelled, without any explanation, as Jason Perry is accused of wanting to run the borough by Trump-style edict. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Jason Perry, the Mayor of  a borough that is £1.4billion in … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Cash-strapped council’s Mayor wants to give himself a pay rise

Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on the latest piece of self-serving nonsense from the borough’s under-achieving Mayor Jason Perry, Croydon’s part-time Mayor, wants to increase his annual salary to almost £84,000. And he expects Croydon residents to pay for … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Mayor forced to U-turn over councillor allowances increase

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jason Perry blames council staff for a report recommending a 4.04% increase in allowances for him and the borough’s 70 councillors. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE Just a week after Tory Mayor Jason Perry got … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Wanted: someone with integrity who can spot dodgy deals

Declared bankrupt three times in two years… £200million lent to a housing company that never repaid a penny of the loans or interest… Arts centre refurb that cost £67million amid suspicions of major fraud… Serious on-going questions about the integrity … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Dr Ola Olasode, General Purposes and Audit Committee | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Mayor makes rapid U-turn as report confirms £19.3m overspend

CROYDON IN CRISIS: A report to be discussed at the Town Hall tonight confirms the deepening financial problems facing the borough’s new Mayor. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE Part-time Mayor Jason Perry has been forced to admit that his Conservative administration … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Dr Ola Olasode, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Ennis, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Perry in cover-up of £18m budget overspend in first 100 days

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough’s new Mayor has already overspent on an agreed budget by £20m – but won’t be producing financial reports until next year. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Croydon Council is already £18million over its budget … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dr Ola Olasode, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Appeal to audit committee chair to demand missing reports

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Is this acceptable?’ Labour leader lists the 9 pieces of detailed financial reporting that were absent from this week’s cabinet papers. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The Labour group at Croydon Town Hall has lodged a formal complaint … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Dr Ola Olasode, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments