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Tag Archives: DLUHC
Times tables show watchdog Oflog is Gove’s Tory poodle
The Conservative government handed ‘fundamentally flawed’ data about local councils to a Murdoch-owned newspaper for publication just days before this month’s local elections. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE If Jason Perry, Croydon’s part-time Mayor, had any hopes that … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Section 114 notice
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Michael Neal, Oflog, Planning, Planning Committee, Rupert Murdoch, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, The Times, Tony Newman, Tory
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Cummings’ budget rejected before his big Newsnight moment
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The government has just found £2.5bn in ‘exceptional financial support’ for 19 councils. But Mayor Jason Perry and his finance chief have an anxious week after having had their unbalanced budget rejected in a Town Hall meeting. … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Chris Philp MP, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, BBC Newsnight, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Fund Croydon Fairly, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jason Cummings, Labour, LGA, Local Government Association, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Newsnight, Pay More Get Less, Ria Patel, S114, S114 notice, Say No To 15%, STUART KING, Tory, Unbalanced budget
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It’s time for our elected councillors to stand up for Croydon
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Saddled with £1.4bn of ‘toxic’ debt, Mayor Perry has been rendered paralysed in his management of the cash-strapped council’s finances. Ahead of tonight’s budget meeting, ANDREW PELLING outlines some of the options for the borough’s politicians There’s … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Planning, Ria Patel, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Andrew Pelling, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department of Levelling Up, DLUHC, Esther Sutton, Green Party, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Ria Patel, S114, S114 notice, Say No To 15%, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
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It’s the same in Croydon and Birmingham: Pay More, Get Less
In this week’s column, ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, looks at the criminalisation of journalism through the treatment of Julian Assange, and he charts the latest undermining of local councils by central Government It could be worse. You could live in … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Alexei Navalny, Andrew Fisher, Birmingham City Council, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department of Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Jeremy Corbyn, Julian Assange, Michael Gove, Nottingham City Council, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory, Vladimir Putin
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McArdle’s £94.8m error in crucial report to minister Gove
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The latest submission from government-appointed experts included a small error that added up to very big money – and no one in power noticed. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES The latest report to Michael Gove at the Department … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Tony McArdle
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Michael Gove, Tony McArdle
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Under the Tories, issuing a Section 114 notice ‘is pointless’
COUNCILS IN CRISIS: The partisan blame game over the financial collapse of local authorities is unravelling by the week, as ever more civic leaders and mayors admit that there’s no spending left to cut. The next couple of weeks could … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Outside Croydon, Section 114 notice
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, Bradford, Bradford City Council, Council Tax, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Hampshire, Hampshire County Council, Havering, Havering Borough Council, Jack Shaw, Michael Gove, Middlesbrough Council, Somerset Council, Stoke, Stoke City Council
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Council hired ‘Real’ builders and dodged Grenfell grants ban
SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Figures associated with a company that is banned from getting government contracts and grants because of its part in works carried out to Grenfell Tower have emerged on the board of another firm working on a housing scheme … Continue reading
Posted in Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Property, Sadiq Khan, Sutton Council, Tim Crowley
Tagged Beech Tree Place, Brick by Brick, Department for Levelling UP Housing and Communities, DLUHC, GLA, Greater London Authority, Helen Bailey, Liberal Democrats, London, Mark Unsworth, Mayor, Mayor Sadiq Khan, Paul Nicholls, Real LSE Ltd, Richard Simpson, Sadiq Khan, Sutton, Sutton Council, The Rydon Group
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LGA warns dozens more councils are on brink of bankruptcy
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Government’s 2024-2025 financial settlement will allow some local authorities in England to impose a 10% Council Tax hike on residents for a second year. By KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter Even Conservative councillors were saying that … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Nottingham City Council, Slough, Thurrock, Tory, Woking
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Gove’s ‘improvement’ panel handed £1,000 per week pay rise
Trebles all-round! Self-professed ‘friend of Suella Braverman’ has given generous pay rises to the unelected bureaucrats overseeing Croydon’s cash-strapped council Michael Gove and his Conservative Government have just added another £50,000 per year on to the costs of running Croydon’s … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle
Tagged Brian Roberts, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jon Wilson, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Pamela Leonce, Phil Brookes, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Statutory powers, Tony McArdle, Tory
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Tandridge among 14 landlords rebuked by Gove over housing
Social housing is being badly managed by councils and housing associations across the country, and all the Tory government is doing is sending a few ‘stern’ letters to officials. By our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES Tandridge District Council in Surrey … Continue reading
Posted in Housing, Lambeth Council, London-wide issues, Outside Croydon, Southwark Council, Tandridge District Council
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Lambeth, Lambeth council, Limpsfield, Michael Gove, Oxted, Southwark, Southwark Council, Surrey, Tandridge, Tandridge District Council, Tory
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Didn’t I do well?! Kerswell gives herself a pat on the back
CROYDON IN CRISIS: It is three years to the week since the emergency committee meeting, attended by Jason Perry, that decided in secret to give £437,000 to Jo Negrini to leave her job as council CEO. Today, Negreedy’s replacement, Katherine … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged #PennReport, 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, DLUHC, Electoral Commission, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Information Commissioners Office, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, LGA, LGC, Local Government Association, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Penn Report, The Penn Report, Tory
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We are witnessing the long, slow death of local government
‘We are staring into an abyss here, and it’s time we faced up to it’. Those were the words of a Conservative councillor in Croydon – in 2013. Here, ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, says that faced with austerity on a … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Andrew Fisher, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, SEND
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Andrew Fisher, CIPFA, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Hastings, Lambeth, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Northumberland, Nottingham, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Slough, Thurrock, Tim Pollard, Tory, unemployment, Woking
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No government checks on council’s borrowing for 15 years
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Scandals and revelations from other busted boroughs demonstrate a deliberate lack of diligence by the Tory government Government failures to keep a check on the runaway borrowing of Croydon and other local authorities is likely to come … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Section 114 notice
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, BBC Panorama, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Levelling Up, Liam Kavanagh, Michael Gove, Panorama, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Thurrock, Tory, Woking
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Council’s striking homelessness staff take their fight to Gove
Senior officials have been accused of deliberately sending in false data on homelessness, potentially costing Croydon as much as £3m per year. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE Council staff working in Croydon’s housing and homelessness department have today … Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Susmita Sen, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, GMB, Homelessness, Housing, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Rachael Baylis, Susmita Sen, Tory
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Petitioners tell ‘powerless’ Mayor Perry it’s time to stand down
Residents have reacted to last week’s announcement from Tory minister Michael Gove of new, increased statutory powers for the government commissioners overseeing the running of the cash-strapped council by demanding that Jason Perry, Croydon’s £82,000 per year elected Mayor, should … Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, South Norwood Tourist Board
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Purley Pool, South Norwood, South Norwood Tourist Board, Tory
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Government panel given extra powers and new commissioners
Council to remain under the supervision of government-appointed panel, which has been given extra statutory powers, until 2025. By STEVEN DOWNES No matter how many times, or in how many different ways, that Jason Perry, Croydon’s piss-poor, part-time Mayor, stamps … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Brian Roberts, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Pamela Leonce, Statutory powers, Tony McArdle, Tory
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Gove’s ministerial statement on state of Croydon finances
At lunchtime today, Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing, dropped a written statement to the House of Commons – just before the start of the summer recess – on the progress, or otherwise, made … Continue reading
Councils’ collapse should have been halted by Sunak or Gove
Croydon is far from alone as a cash-strapped local authority. And bit by bit, evidence is emerging from the series of financial crashes of councils that implicates not only Michael Gove but also Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Slough, Slough Borough Council, Thurrock, Thurrock Council, Tory, Woking, Woking Borough Council
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Gove finally admits it: Localism got councils all in a Pickles
Is the Levelling Up minister in denial about the extent of financial problems in local government? It certainly seems that way after his speech to the Local Government Association conference yesterday. By STEVEN DOWNES Michael Gove, the Secretary of State … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, LGA, Local Government Association, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Office for Local Government, Oflog, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Slough, Thurrock, Tory, Woking
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Perry enters new plea to government to write-off council debts
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘This is not something we will be able to fix alone,’ the borough’s Mayor conceded in a recent letter to the Tory government – who haven’t bothered replying to his request. By our Town Hall correspondent, KEN … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jane West, Labour, Lee Rowley, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Slough, Thurrock, Tony McArdle, Tory, Woking
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‘The Tories in England are enthusiastic only about ground rent’
One-third of homeowners in Croydon are leaseholders, but the Government has flunked its promises to reform the service charge system. Citing Gramsci and Marx, Michael Gove and Sarah Jones, our columnist ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, explains why getting rid of … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Fisher, Business, Housing
Tagged Andrew Fisher, Croydon, Croydon North, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Housing, Leasehold, Leasehold reform, Lisa Nandy, Michael Gove, Sarah Jones MP
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Perry admits he can’t take action against council’s bankrupters
Croydon’s part-time Mayor has always known that the actions of councillors and senior council staff ‘can decimate an authority… without any fear of recrimination’. But he’s been very reluctant to admit his impotency to the borough’s residents. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Improvement Board, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLU, DLUHC, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory
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Councillors agree to chase Negrini for golden handshake cash
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The same committee which met in August 2020 to agree the £437,000 payment to the departing CEO today decided to ignore the advice of senior lawyers and spend more council cash in trying to recover the pay-off. … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Enid Mollyneaux, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Patricia Hay-Justice, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, CIPFA, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Metropolitan Police, Michael Gove, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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Croydon put in special measures: ‘Worst of all possible worlds’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Announcements from Westminster and Whitehall today put the borough under the control of unelected bureaucrats who are answerable only to a Tory Government minister – in a scheme that the Mayor has helped plot for months. By … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lee Rowley, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Regina Road, S114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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Two years too late, Tory Government intervenes over council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A Parliamentary written statement today effectively admitted defeat over the council’s bail-outs and ordered a Whitehall takeover of the council ahead of a possible £540m debt write-off Lee Rowley, the Tories’ local government minister, announced today an … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Katherine Kerswell, Lee Rowley, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, S114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
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