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Category Archives: Lisa Taylor
Secret report into wrong-doing at council still kept under wraps
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Eighteen months after an investigation into how the council’s finances collapsed, the report into the affair – which prompted the resignation of the council leader and four execs – remains unpublished. And the council CEO intends keeping … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Lynne Hale, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Lynne Hale, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
11 Comments
Newman and Negrini’s pay-off: no papers, no notes, no reasons
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Last week’s news that former chief exec Jo Negrini’s total reward for failure at the council amounted to an eye-watering £613,000 of tax-payers’ cash raised further questions about how such a payment was agreed and who authorised … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Simon Hall, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman
Tagged Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, £437000, Conservative, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tax Payers Alliance, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, Tory
22 Comments
Suspended director sues Kerswell for ‘race discrimination’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council running one of the country’s most ethnically diverse boroughs could be dragged through the courts, with one of its rare BAME directors accusing it, and its chief executive, of racism. By STEVEN DOWNES Hazel Simmonds, … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa
3 Comments
£67m fraud at Fairfield: Town Hall row over calling in police
CRISIS SPECIAL: The council’s most senior legal official wants to check the £70m Fairfield fiasco for fraud, but the borough’s Labour councillors don’t want to call in the police, yet their leader says she has already reported it to the … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Chris Clark, College Green, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Felicity Flynn, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, John Jones, Lisa Taylor, Lynne Hale, Mott MacDonald, Oliver Lewis, Paul Scott, Planning, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Robert Ward, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Labour, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Robert Ward, Sarah Ironmonger, STUART KING, Tony Newman, Tory
24 Comments
Tories miss chance to call for police action over Fairfield fiasco
Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on the latest fall-out from the £37m overspend on the arts venue as the borough’s councillors – Tory as well as Labour – appear reluctant to turn their old mates over to the police The council … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Shifa Mustafa, South Croydon, Tony Newman, Tory
1 Comment
Negrini and execs ‘failed to ensure council was acting lawfully’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: An auditors’ report into the ‘shoddy’ deal that handed the Fairfield Halls refurbishment to loss-making builders Brick by Brick hints at potential fraud and accuses senior officials of large-scale negligence. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Some … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Sarah Ironmonger, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
17 Comments
Ali promises to release report into ‘collusive, unhealthy culture’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Has the council leader made another meaningless promise to the borough’s residents over ‘disciplinary action’ against those responsible for the Town Hall’s financial collapse? By STEVEN DOWNES The potentially dynamite but still unpublished Penn Report into possible … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Improvement Board, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Tony Newman
2 Comments
Council appoints finance director with links to ex-CEO Elvery
Croydon councillors, including the leader of the Conservative opposition, have agreed to appoint as the council’s finance director someone who previously worked amid a “bullying culture” at another failing local authority. Richard Ennis’s appointment, to one of the most critical … Continue reading
Former health director suing council for constructive dismissal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Kerswell’s cull’ of the council’s executive directors appointed or promoted by her predecessor, Jo Negrini, is not going as smoothly as might have been hoped. And it appears that most will escape any disciplinary action. By STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
3 Comments
Kerswell set to depart after completing cull of Negrini execs
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Having overseen the removal of almost all of Jo Negrini’s ‘executive leadership team’, it seems that the interim chief exec wants to move on to better things. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council is to begin the … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Heather Cheesbrough, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Robert Henderson, Sarah Hayward, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa
14 Comments
Exec director resigned week before suspension was announced
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Minutes from another council’s meeting shows that Guy Van Dichele was offered a job in Southampton eight days before he was ‘suspended’ from his post as executive director ‘health, well-being and adults’. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Documents … Continue reading
Two executive directors in shock resignations from council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Staff were told this afternoon that two of the ‘executive leadership team’ who were suspended from duty last week have quit their jobs. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Guy Van Dichele, Croydon’s executive director “health, well-being and adults”, … Continue reading
‘Unintended consequences’: government scraps pay-off cap
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Political editor WALTER CRONXITE finds that the era of half-million-pound rewards for failure might not be over at the council just yet Those council exec directors on six-figure salaries who are sweating on the outcome of a … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Shifa Mustafa, Unison
7 Comments
Newman presided over ‘shocking bullying’, claims councillor
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Questions have been raised over Labour’s decision not to suspend the former deputy leader of the council, while Town Hall chiefs prepare for a flurry of disciplinary meetings next week Yesterday’s “administrative suspension” of councillors Tony Newman … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Tony Newman, Tory
10 Comments
We’re in the money! Bexley gets its government bail-out
While Croydon Council waits on anxiously for the deliberations of Whitehall civil servants over whether it will be allowed its multi-million-pound bail-out, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government last night announced that it would be granting permission to … Continue reading
Posted in Bexley, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Outside Croydon, Section 114 notice
Tagged Bexley Council, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, S114, Section 114, Tory
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The Kerswell cull: ‘This is a really difficult situation’ says CEO
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on the latest bulletin to council staff intended, perhaps, to keep up morale In the vintage (and not very “woke”) BBC sitcom Are You Being Served, the doddering old proprietor of … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Heather Cheesbrough, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Paula Murray, S114, Sean Murphy, Section 114
7 Comments
The Kerswell cull begins: five senior council execs go ‘off-grid’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Monday night’s constitutional changes at the Town Hall were quickly followed by ‘unprecedented’ action from the interim CEO. By STEVEN DOWNES Almost the whole of the senior leadership team at the council “went off-grid” today. Inside Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
6 Comments
Whitehall picks McArdle to sort out council’s financial mess
CROYDON IN CRISIS: At Monday’s cabinet meeting, the council leadership repeatedly denied that the appointment of an Improvement Board from Whitehall will amount to a takeover. But if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… Tony McArdle, … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Schools, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman, Virgo Fidelis
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman, Virgo Fidelis, Virgo Fidelis Convent School
4 Comments
Council set to lend more money to failing Brick by Brick
CROYDON IN CRISIS: When in a hole, stop digging? Not Croydon’s bankrupt council, which is ‘damned if it does, damned if it doesn’t’ according to a senior Tory councillor over plans to throw more cash at its loss-making house-builder. KEN … Continue reading
Reshuffle puts execs in high-stakes game of musical chairs
EXCLUSIVE: Leaked council documents suggest that the interim chief executive has already made her mind up as to who she wants in her top team. By STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £192,474 per year interim CEO, looks set to demote … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Shifa Mustafa
10 Comments
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
Now Scott tries to play the blame game over Brick by Brick
Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on how the chief architect of the council’s disastrous housing policy is trying to salvage his reputation Paul Scott, part of the clique which led Croydon Council to bankruptcy, broke cover at a virtual Town … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Housing, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Martyn Evans, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, S114, Section 114, Tony Newman
9 Comments
Council’s Christmas present to Croydon: another S114 notice
Ho! Ho! Ho! The countdown to Christmas at the council’s Fisher Folly offices began in earnest this morning with the issuing of a Section 114 notice – another one – signalling that officials are still unable to deliver a balanced … Continue reading
BxB-built library which has never opened is now to be closed
The story of South Norwood Library is just the latest example of how thoroughly screwed-up and costly the council’s relationship with its loss-making house-builders has become. GENE BRODIE, our bookish gyms correspondent, reports This could only happen in Croydon. The … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Education, Jane Avis, Libraries, Lisa Taylor, Oliver Lewis, Patsy Cummings, Paul Scott, Section 114 notice, South Norwood, Tony Newman, Woodside
Tagged Bradmore Green Library, Brick by Brick, Broad Green Library, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Jane Avis, London Borough of Croydon, Old Coulsdon, Oliver Lewis, Patsy Cummings, Paul Scott, Sanderstead Library, Sarah Jones MP, Shirley Library, South Norwood, South Norwood Library, Tony Newman
8 Comments
Kerswell tries to gag council staff over Section 114 crisis
Council staff have been ordered not to read or talk to Inside Croydon. Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on how the council’s £192,000 per year CEO has quickly adopted the bunker mentality of her discredited predecessor Katherine Kerswell has been … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Tony Newman
10 Comments
