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Tag Archives: Improvement and Assurance Panel
Labour figures accuse wasteful Perry of ‘serious incompetence’
‘Once again, the people of Croydon are paying the price for the failure of politicians who don’t have our community’s interests at heart’, according to 2026 Mayoral candidate Rowenna Davis Labour’s candidate for Mayor of Croydon, Rowenna Davis, has accused … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon West, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, Richard Howard, Rowenna Davis, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Claire Bonham, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon West, 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, Natasha Irons MP, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Steve Reed OBE, Streatham and Croydon North, Tory
7 Comments
Radical change is overdue at council says LibDem Howard
A former Army bomb disposal expert who will be leading the Liberal Democrats’ election efforts in 2026 says Croydon’s residents are ‘fed up with paying more and getting less’ Richard Howard, the LibDems’ candidate for Mayor of Croydon in 2026, … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Howard, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Claire Bonham, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Government, Government Commissioners, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Board, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Richard Howard, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
9 Comments
Mayor Perry: ‘Residents of Croydon have felt enough pain’
The Mayor who has hiked your Council Tax by 27% in just two years today tried to claim that he has the Town Hall finances under control and that no one had raised any concerns about soaring levels of borrowing … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Cllr Rowenna Davis, 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, Tony McArdle, Tory
17 Comments
Kerswell admits that council bail-outs are ‘not sustainable’
Crisis? What crisis? Council’s £204,000 per year chief exec spent last night at a glitzy awards event in Mayfair, with the government set to announce it would be sending in Commissioners to run the borough Back from a night out … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 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, Tony McArdle, Tory
9 Comments
Borrowing plan would lead to council’s ‘collapse’ says report
The government-appointed improvement panel recommended intervention by Commissioners after the cash-strapped council laid out ‘impossible’ plans for additional borrowing The “runaway position of the council’s finances” and a plan for continued bail-outs from central government had created “an impossible position”, … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 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, Tony McArdle, Tory
13 Comments
McMahon acts after serious concerns on ‘aspects of leadership’
‘The deteriorating financial position, which is not being gripped and tackled adequately by the council, is reaching a “financial crisis”.’ Here is the full written statement to the House of Commons today from Jim McMahon, the local government minister I … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 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, Tony McArdle, Tory
6 Comments
Government sends in Commissioners to run Croydon Council
After more than four years of ‘soft-touch’ intervention with a so-called ‘improvement panel’, today Whitehall mandarins lost patience with Mayor Jason Perry and CEO Katherine Kerswell’s poor management of Croydon Council. By STEVEN DOWNES Jim McMahon, Labour’s minister for local … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 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, Tony McArdle, Tory
16 Comments
What will sending in Commissioners mean for our council?
Government-appointed bureaucrats taking over the running of local level services happens only in ‘very exceptional circumstances and very much as a last resort’ according to Whitehall guidance Since 2020, following Croydon’s first Section 114 Notice issued that November, a number … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Marie Snelling, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 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, Tony McArdle, Tory
6 Comments
You can be confident that the council’s targets will not be met
CROYDON COMMENTARY: After council chiefs admitted that they ‘cannot deliver a balanced budget’, DAVID WICKENS says that their ‘Stabilisation Plan’ is an admission of failure After Croydon Council released its “Stabilisation Plan” last week, I had a quick look back … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 2025 Council budget, Budget, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Wickens, Exceptional financial support, Exit Strategy, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle, Tory, Unbalanced budget
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Kerswell’s ‘Stabilisation Plan’ has failed before it is approved
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The fourth rescue plan issued by our cash-strapped council in as many years ‘cannot deliver a balanced budget’. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor “Desperate” and “deluded” are a couple of the kinder things that have been said … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 2025 Council budget, Budget, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Exceptional financial support, Exit Strategy, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle, Tory, Unbalanced budget
10 Comments
Tory Mayor’s ‘Our Croydon’ printed with £35k of YOUR money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jason Perry has been accused of misusing public money on a thinly-disguised propaganda rag to boost his election chances. But there’s also serious questions about how the project was ever passed by the government’s ‘improvement panel’. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Local media, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony McArdle
Tagged 27%, Cllr Stuart King, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eric Pickles, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Katherine Kerswell, Kim Jong Un, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, North Korea, Our Croydon, Propaganda, Susie Rundle, Tony McArdle, Tory
14 Comments
Council chief West warns staff that finances ‘remain serious’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council appears to be sleepwalking into another financial crisis, without a full meeting at the Town Hall for three months, while bosses at Fisher’s Folly waiting for the next government directive. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES “Our … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 2025 Council budget, Budget, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Exceptional financial support, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory, Unbalanced budget
6 Comments
Top Tory admits Fairfield Halls could be sold for the right deal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Come on down! The price is right!’ The cabinet member for finance has said that the arts and conference centre could yet be sold if the cash-strapped council is ordered to do so. By STEVEN DOWNES Jason … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Music, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Theatre
Tagged 20th Century Society, BH Live, BHLive, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jason Cummings, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Tory
9 Comments
Kerswell says debt write-off talks with Whitehall are ‘active’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Releasing the council from the shackles of its toxic debt could be the only lasting solution – and talks with Whitehall on the suggestion are continuing, according to a report in a trade magazine Katherine Kerswell, Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, The Municipal Journal, Tony McArdle, Tory
13 Comments
‘The improvement panel’s general position is to sell everything’
CROYDON COMMENTARY: This website’s editor, STEVEN DOWNES, on why a Mayor who keeps getting caught out in untruths really needs to start being more honest with the borough’s residents If ever there was an example of Mayor Jason Perry “being … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Mayor Jason Perry, Music, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Theatre
Tagged 20th Century Society, Alison Butler, BH Live, BHLive, Borough of Culture, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Tory
15 Comments
Government panel wants Croydon to flog off the Fairfield Halls
CROYDON IN CRISIS: With the council’s annual overspend reaching £100m, Whitehall-appointed commissioners could force the sale of the arts centre, which the C20 Society describes as an ‘underappreciated South Bank Centre of the suburbs’. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon could … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Music, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Theatre
Tagged 20th Century Society, Alison Butler, BH Live, BHLive, Borough of Culture, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Tony Newman, Tory
33 Comments
Government must act to end the chaos, austerity and decline
Will Labour’s council reforms announced this week build a new Jerusalem in our hard-pressed town halls? ANDREW FISHER analyses the government’s English Devolution White Paper, and what it might mean for Croydon Unveiling her new White Paper on Monday, the … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Fisher, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry
Tagged Andrew Fisher, Angela Rayner MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Jim McMahon, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Tory
4 Comments
Perry ducks scrutiny over council financials that don’t add up
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Elected Mayor didn’t hang around to face the music from councillors as the £42m overspend was discussed at the Town Hall this week. By STEVEN DOWNES The council’s projected £42million overspend this financial year is “unprecedented”, and … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Leila Ben-Hassel, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Leila Ben-Hassel, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Scrutiny committee, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
15 Comments
Mayor Perry busts his unbalanced budget with £42m overspend
CROYDON IN CRISIS: According to official figures, even with a £38m government bail-out, the Conservative-run council looks like spending £42m over budget in this financial year – and that’s £10m more than when it first went bust in 2020. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
14 Comments
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
4 Comments
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
8 Comments
Council failed in legal duty to publish accounts for three years
CROYDON COMMENTARY: While the narrative from the Government-appointed improvement panel, the council and the levelling up department is upbeat about an ‘increased pace’ of change at the bankrupt borough, a more realistic picture, as NICHOLAS PANES points out, is of … Continue reading
Council loaned Brick by Brick additional £47.3m last year
CROYDON IN CRISIS: In its latest report to Michael Gove, the Government’s improvement panel reveals a £38m hole in cash-strapped council budgets for the next four years – and repeats plea for unprecedented half-a-billion pounds loan write-off Croydon’s cash-strapped council … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, £540m debt write off, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Department for Levelling UP Housing and Communities, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Tony McArdle, Tory
5 Comments
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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