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Tag Archives: Commissioners
Council Commissioner Warren set to retire from Greenwich job
Debbie Warren, one of the £1,000 per day Commissioners appointed by the government last year to oversee the financial management of crisis-hit Croydon Council, has announced that she is to step down from her “day job” as chief executive at … Continue reading
Just the job! Council hands £200,000 finance chief role to Hall
Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on the rushed recruitment of a Commissioner-approved appointee to a permanent role in Fisher’s Folly, helped with £30,000 in ‘danger money’ Croydon’s cash-strapped council under Tory Mayor Jason Perry is still able to find enough … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Elaine Jackson, Jane West, Jenny Rowlands
Tagged Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Corporate Director of Resources, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace FC, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jane West, Jenny Rowlands, Labour, Leipzig, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 151 officer
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Croydon’s rewards for failure laid bare in Town Hall Rich List
Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s chief executive who issued three Section 114 notices of effective bankruptcy during her time in charge at the council, was taking home salary and pensions totalling £223,838 in the year before she left Fisher’s Folly. Yet Kerswell … Continue reading
Posted in Annette McPartland, Bromley Council, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Elaine Jackson, Helen Bailey, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Lambeth Council, Outside Croydon, Richard Simpson, Southwark Council, Susmita Sen, Sutton Council
Tagged Ade Adetosoye, Althea Loderick, Annette McPartland, Bromley Council, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Corporate Director of Resources, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Helen Bailey, Jane West, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lambeth council, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Simpson, Section 151 officer, Southwark Council, Susmita Sen, Sutton Council, Tax Payers Alliance, Town Hall Rich List, TPA
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Council rushes through £200,000 finance job ahead of elections
Government-appointed Commissioners are pushing through the appointment of a new finance director at the Town Hall – regardless of who might become Croydon’s new Mayor. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council, which has debts of £1.4billion, is about to hire … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Annette McPartland, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Elaine Jackson, Jane West, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Susmita Sen
Tagged Annette McPartland, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Corporate Director of Resources, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jane West, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 151 officer, Susmita Sen
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Commissioners: council lacks focus and robust delivery plans
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Government releases report critical of the lack of progress and slow pace of improvements in finances under Tory Mayor Jason Perry. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Six weeks out from the local elections, the government has published … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jackie Belton, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Tory
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Whatever could they mean? Commissioners call for ‘honesty’
In what is overall a highly critical report from the government-appointed Commissioners after six months working closely with the council run by successive chief execs Katherine Kerswell (until she left in October with a £50,000 pay-off) and Elaine Jackson, and … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jackie Belton, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Tory
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Perry has stabilised council finances in state of perpetual crisis
TV and radio politics pundit ANDREW FISHER, right, sat through three hours of false claims and spin at the Town Hall last night, as Croydon’s £87,000 per year lame duck Mayor still says he has done a decent job “I … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Fisher, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, SEND
Tagged 2026 council budget, 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, 2026 local elections, Andrew Fisher, Budget, Capitalisation direction, Commissioners, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, EFS, Exceptional financial support, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Tory
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£84,000 per year Tory Mayor approves his own pay rise
EXCLUSIVE: It’s trebles all-round for directors at Croydon’s cash-strapped council, as there’s a second generous pay rise in 12 months for council chiefs, while allowances paid to councillors are also to rise, and amount to £1.6m per year. Yet long-suffering … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, SEND
Tagged 2026 council budget, 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, 2026 local elections, Budget, Capitalisation direction, Cllr Scott Roche, Commissioners, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, EFS, Elaine Jackson, Exceptional financial support, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, S114, S114 notice, Section 114 Notice, Tony Newman, Tory
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Perry begs for another £119m to balance his busted budget
Croydon’s Conservative Mayor, who has hiked Council Tax by 33% since 2023, still needs another £119m government bail-out to make his council budget balance. By STEVEN DOWNES Jason Perry, Croydon’s Conservative Mayor, has got his begging bowl out again to … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Lambeth Council, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, SEND
Tagged 2026 council budget, 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, 2026 local elections, Budget, Capitalisation direction, Commissioners, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, EFS, Exceptional financial support, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, S114, S114 notice, Section 114 Notice, Steve Reed OBE, Tory
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Labour refuse to respond to Cummings’s budget challenge
WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, on a sham challenge issued to rival political parties by a borrowing-dependent Conservative administration that is trying to con the public that they have ‘fixed the finances’ As Tory Mayor Jason Perry prepares to deliver what … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Claire Bonham, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King
Tagged 2026 council budget, 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, 2026 local elections, Cllr Stuart King, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Green Party, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Lollipop patrols, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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Finance chief leaves council three months sooner than planned
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Weeks after the abrupt departure of CEO Katherine Kerswell with a £50,000 ‘farewell present’, the early exit of head of finance Jane West prompts speculation that she has become the latest council boss to receive a generous … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Ian Golland, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Kristian Aspinall, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Uncategorized
Tagged Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Ian Golland, Jane West, Kerry Critchlow, Kristian Aspinall, Lambeth, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Newham, Steve Reed OBE, Tory
15 Comments
Commissioners switch email in effort to protect whistleblowers
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After complaints that staff could not trust that their messages to the government-appointed Commissioners would be secure from their council bosses, a MHCLG official has set up an independent channel. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Three months after … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Nathan Elvery, Section 114 notice
Tagged 000 pay-off, Abi Brown, £50, Commissioners, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Fisher's Folly, Ged Curran, Jackie Belton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lindsey Lewis, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Nathan Elvery
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Commissioners critical of Mayor Perry’s risky financial plans
Council Tax UP Borrowing UP Council debts UP An official report ahead of a Town Hall meeting tomorrow night paints a grim picture. And the government Commissioners are unimpressed. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Croydon’s financial position “remains extremely fragile … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Uncategorized
Tagged Auditors, Commissioners, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Grant Thornton, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory
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Podcast: Why diversity and inclusion should matter to us all
Our Croydon Insider podcast is exclusive premium content for our paying subscribers. On our panel this month are Anna Arthur, director of The Croydonites Festival, now in its 10th year, Darryl Chamberlain, the Editor of the Greenwich Wire news website, … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Athletics, Commissioners, Cricket, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Croydonites Festival, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, CYTO, Debbie Warren, Donna Fraser, Inside Croydon, Sport, Theatre
Tagged Anna Arthur, Commissioners, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydonites Festival, Darryl Chamberlain, DEI, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Donna Fraser, Hammersfield, Labour, Patreon, Podcast, Spotify, The Croydon Insider, The Greenwich Wire, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Yusuf Osman
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HR director’s suspension at Sutton raises serious questions
EXCLUSIVE: The six-figure-salaried council director ultimately responsible for hiring and firing staff arrived at Fisher’s Folly only after his own run-in over a disciplinary matter with another local authority, where he walked away with a pay-off of at least £90,000. … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stuart King
Tagged Cllr Stuart King, Commissioners, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Government Commissioners, HR, Human Resources, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Merton Council, Misconduct, Suspension, Sutton Council, Tory
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Podcast: LibDem candidate says he’d clear-out council execs
EXCLUSIVE: Our Croydon Insider podcast, exclusive premium content for our paying subscribers, this month went behind the headlines to look at the scandal of agency payments at the cash-strapped council, where they are paying more than £700 per hour for … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Coulsdon, Croydon Insider, Elaine Jackson, Inside Croydon, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Howard, Under The Flyover
Tagged Animal Farm, Anya Destiney, Commissioners, Conservative, Coulsdon, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Johnny Dobbyn, Katherine Kerswell, LibDems, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Major Richard Howard, Mayor Jason Perry, Oumesh Sauba, Richard Howard, Under The Flyover
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Mayor coming under pressure to sack council CEO Kerswell
EXCLUSIVE: With no real solution in sight, and the appointment of government Commissioners getting ever closer, sending patronising memos to Whitehall seeking to blame everyone but herself probably wasn’t the shrewdest move by the £204,000 per year council chief. By … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, James Blythe, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Podcast: Our Croydon Insider panel looks at council’s crisis
What will the appointment by government of Commissioners to run Croydon Council mean to you as a resident? After five years of ever-increasing bail-outs for Croydon’s cash-stapped council, what alternative actions were there? And is Mayor Jason Perry right to … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Inside Croydon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Under The Flyover
Tagged Cheryl Fergus-Ferrell, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, David Weir, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Podcast, Sharon Owen, Tory
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Poor Perry shuffles his papers but can’t find any answers
TOWN HALL SKETCH: At the first council cabinet meeting for three months, Croydon’s Tory Mayor stamped his feet and screamed in self-pity, and then admitted that he can’t fix the finances. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Jason Perry stood up, … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Leila Ben-Hassel, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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‘Solution to restoring sustainability lies outside our control’
Here is the full text of Mayor Jason Perry’s letter to Secretary of State Angela Rayner, in response to the announcement that the government is ‘minded’ to send in Commissioners to manage Croydon’s ‘runaway’ finances I am writing in response … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Crisis? What crisis? Perry ducks emergency Town Hall meeting
EXCLUSIVE: Council bosses push back opposition calls for an urgent meeting to debate the government announcement about installing Commissioners to run the borough’s affairs. By STEVEN DOWNES Crisis? What crisis? Croydon’s Mayor Jason Perry won’t allow any emergency discussion at … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Stuart King
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Tory councillor’s Commissioner video nasty is another wild rant
Simon Brew, a Conservative councillor in Croydon for the past 11 years, hasn’t had the best of luck with his campaigning on local issues when he has tried to use modern communication techniques – like videos. Remember how he lobbied … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Purley, Section 114 notice, Simon Brew, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Bankrupt, Chrildren's Services, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eleanor Brazil, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Levelling, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Phil Brookes, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
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Croydon residents pick up the £1m tab for ‘improvement’ panel
It is residents who will pay the cost of government ‘intervention’ if Commissioners move in at Fisher’s Folly next month, just as they have been paying for a panel of Whitehall-appointed ‘experts’ since 2021. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Official figures … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged Bankrupt, Chrildren's Services, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eleanor Brazil, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Levelling, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Phil Brookes, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
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Business as usual for Kerswell – but remember to bring a pen!
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Like the captain of the Titanic, but she hasn’t realised we’ve hit the iceberg’. Council managers were ordered to attend briefing sessions on the chief exec’s pet project, Future Croydon, even though it looks doomed to be junked by … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 'Future Croydon', 15% Council Tax hike, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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