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Category Archives: Report in the Public Interest
Croydon gets two pokes in the Eye over Newman and Negrini
The national media really is waking up to the scandal in Croydon, with the latest issue of Private Eye having not its usual one, regular report about the basketcase borough, but two. And that includes a prominent place on the … Continue reading
No Council Tax hike without seeing the assurance panel reports
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Michael Gove is not only permitting the borough’s Tory Mayor to hike Council Tax without a referendum, he is doing so while withholding reports from his own panel of inspectors. Which suggests the government has something to hide … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Robert Jenrick, Tony McArdle, Tory
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Newman’s defence slips: there’s ‘no evidence’ of wrongdoing
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The latest in-depth coverage of the borough’s bankruptcy by a national newspaper sees the former Labour council leader dump blame on his erstwhile colleagues. By STEVEN DOWNES The council leader who oversaw Town Hall meetings and gatherings … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Clive Fraser, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Inside Croydon, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Manju Shahul Hameed, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Andrew Ellson, Callton Young, Clive Fraser, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Enid Mollyneaux, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Manju Shahul Hameed, Paul Scott, Penn Report, Simon Hall, Stuart Collins, STUART KING, The Penn Report, The Times, Tony Newman, Tory
9 Comments
Kerswell still holds out over Penn Report’s recommendations
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Those with the biggest responsibilities and with statutory duties let the organisation down’ according to the investigation into the council’s financial collapse. The two-year delay in publication appears to have let down the borough’s residents and council … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, CIPFA, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Metropolitan Police, Penn Report, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory
12 Comments
Newman breaks his silence to tell Mail: I did no wrong
CROYDON IN CRISIS: With the Penn Report into possible wrong-doing at the council expected to be released by officials shortly, the former council leader has responded to reports in the national press. By STEVEN DOWNES The Daily Mail today became … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Inside Croydon, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory
14 Comments
Taxing times for Perry as he deploys Negrini as his ‘dead cat’
Try not to get your hopes up too much ahead of next week’s Penn Report meeting, suggests STEVEN DOWNES. The Mayor might be over-promising before under-delivering again Is Jo Negrini being used as a “dead cat” by Croydon Mayor Jason … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, The Penn Report
Tagged #PennReport, Boris Johnson, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hammersfield, High Court, Jane Mulcahy KC, Jo Negrini, London Borough of Croydon, Lynton Crosby, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Richard Simpson, The Penn Report, Tory, Westfield
12 Comments
Kerswell finally prepares to publish long withheld #PennReport
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s £193,000 per year CEO has descended into the realms of Alice In Blunderland with her latest excuses for ignoring elected councillors and the public. By STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s chief executive, claims that it … Continue reading
Posted in Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Inside Croydon, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, STUART KING, Tony Newman, Tory
5 Comments
The end is nigh: Brick by Brick’s final tower block is sold off
Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, on the council’s increasingly desperate efforts to flog off the last developments from its inept house-builder Flyover Towers, the final development by Brick by Brick, Croydon Council’s bankrupting building firm, has been sold as a … Continue reading
Town Hall meetings halved as new Mayor dodges questioning
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tonight’s cabinet meeting has on its agenda the borough’s underperforming schools, the Westfield failure, Council Tax Support and council rents… in all, 24 items need to be considered at a meeting where opposition councillors will barely be … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Centrale, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Education, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Schools, Section 114 notice, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Reports in the Public Interest, RIPI, Tory
4 Comments
Croydon is in a right Pickles and it is easy to work out why
Thurrock, Warrington, Nottingham, Slough, Liverpool, Sandwell… Croydon is far from alone among basket-case boroughs. ANDREW FISHER traces the common cause back to Whitehall Pay more, get less. That seems to have been the message from many councils across the country … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Fisher, Croydon Council, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Tim Pollard, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
Tagged Andrew Fisher, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eric Pickles, Gideon Osborne, Jason Cummings, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Tony Newman, Tory
5 Comments
Bankrupt council paid firm of solicitors £2m over two years
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council used to have a senior official known as the ‘Borough Solicitor’. These days, the cash-strapped council is out-sourcing much of its legal work to a single firm of solicitors, at huge cost. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Inside Croydon, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Julie Belvir, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Penn Report
Tagged #PennReport, Blackstone Chambers, Browne Jacobson, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jane Mulcahy KC, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Penn Report, Tory
24 Comments
Negrini’s dodgy pay-off now gets attention from the trade press
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Borough’s most senior lawyer, responding to advice the council received almost nine months ago, says that the meeting that agreed to pay £437,000 to departing chief exec was ‘potentially unlawful’. By STEVEN DOWNES The council’s glacially slow … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Croydon Council, Inside Croydon, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Municipal Journal, The Penn Report, TMJ, Tony Newman, Tory
11 Comments
Negrini pay-off arranged after ‘breakdown’ with leader Newman
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The notorious £437,000 payment made to former council chief exec was agreed at an ‘unlawful’ meeting and should never have been paid. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The near-half-a-million pounds paid to Jo Negrini in August 2020 to … Continue reading
#KerswellBallsFund: We need your help to fight the council
By STEVEN DOWNES, Editor, Inside Croydon Croydon Council is trying to silence Inside Croydon. Last week, they tried to get an injunction at the High Court to stop us publishing documents which the council had already placed in the public … Continue reading
Posted in #KerswellBalls Fund, Croydon Council, Inside Croydon, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Penn Report
Tagged #KerswellBallsFund, Croydon, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense
12 Comments
#PennReport: No referrals sent to staff’s professional bodies
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Recommendations for action made by auditors, a Local Government Association report and two sets of legal experts have not been acted on by the current CEO. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Confidential legal advice provided to Croydon Council … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Stuart King, The Penn Report
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Browne Jacobson, CIPFA, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jane Mulcahy KC, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Shifa Mustafa, Solicitors Regulation Authority, STUART KING, The Penn Report
7 Comments
Council threatens injunction over reports it published itself
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Having published two confidential reports on its own website last week, today Croydon Council’s top legal official threatened this website with a High Court injunction. By STEVEN DOWNES The myth that Jason Perry, Croydon’s part-time Mayor, has … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Penn Report
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwnese, The Penn Report
5 Comments
‘Better than evens’ chance of winning Negrini legal case
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After doing their utmost for almost two years to suppress the findings and recommendations of the Penn Report investigation into the council’s financial collapse, Katherine Kerswell’s blundering local authority managed to publish two confidential legal reports on … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Stuart King, The Penn Report
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jane Mulcahy KC, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Shifa Mustafa, STUART KING, The Penn Report
13 Comments
After nearly a year, Gove is sitting on two ‘improvement’ reports
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Millions of pounds of public money are at stake, a matter not to be sniffed at, but government minister is staying schtum over state of cash-strapped council’s finances. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Michael Gove, re-installed as Secretary … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Robert Jenrick, Tony McArdle, Tory
1 Comment
#PennReport: Negrini staged a power-grab over councillors
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The long-withheld Penn Report describes a dysfunctional local authority where the former CEO was accused of ignoring elected representatives and keeping vital information from them. In our latest extract, we reveal what one Labour cabinet member really … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Penn Report, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Penn, RIPI, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
12 Comments
#PennReport: Cover-ups and denial over Brick by Brick failure
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The ‘highly dysfunctional’ council had ‘no transparency or accountability’ over the way it handled millions of pounds of public money. And this latest extract from the Penn Report shows that some key figures refuse to accept responsibility … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIF, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report
7 Comments
Judge orders CEO Kerswell to face tribunal over racism claims
Our Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on the latest development in the increasingly messy aftermath of Croydon’s bankruptcy Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £192,474 per year chief executive, will have to face up to 11 days in an Employment Tribunal and claims … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report
Tagged #PennReport, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Employment Tribunal, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Richard Penn, The Penn Report, Tory
9 Comments
#PennReport: Staff speak out about ‘scandalous’ bullying
CROYDON IN CRISIS: In an online poll conducted over the weekend, the overwhelming majority of iC readers – 92.5% – said that wanted to read more from the Penn Report into ‘possible wrong-doing’ at their local council. So, because Mayor … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Nathan Elvery, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Simon Maddocks, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
10 Comments
Mayor breaks silence to say he won’t publish #PennReport
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Part-time Perry took four days to respond to questions over the refusal to publish a controversial report, only to confirm that he is not in charge of the council. By STEVEN DOWNES Four days after he was … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Simon Hall, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory
25 Comments
#PennReport: National media follow-up on Croydon crisis
Inside Croydon’s exclusive coverage of the Penn Report has already been followed-up by national newspapers, the country’s best-selling fortnightly satirical magazine, and even the trade magazine for local councils have been publishing material this week which Croydon Council has failed … Continue reading
Men who led council to bankruptcy say they did nothing wrong
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tony Newman and Simon Hall, the duo who were in charge at the Town Hall in the months leading to its financial collapse in 2020, have hired a flash, West End PR firm to issue a statement … Continue reading
