Tag Archives: Improvement Panel

Croydon needs deal that could set precedent for all councils

Posted on January 11, 2023 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: A government-appointed inspector, council directors and senior councillors all agree that throwing millions more at the cash-strapped council won’t fix its deep-seated problems. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The Tories who control Croydon Town Hall have already done … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Mike Fisher, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Tory Mayor wants to keep finances under wraps for 9 months

Posted on July 6, 2022 by insidecroydon

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on early signs of less accountability at the Town Hall under the Conservative administration Jason Perry, Croydon’s part-time Mayor, will tonight be accused of “closing down the books” by reducing the frequency of reports on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Brick by Brick ‘sweetheart’ sale could have cost another £45m

Posted on November 3, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The latest report from government-appointed inspectors assigned to check on the council finances reveals that a sweetheart deal to sell failed house-builders Brick by Brick to a Manchester developer could have cost the bankrupt borough another £45m. … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Planning, Section 114 notice, Tom Bloxham, Tony McArdle, Urban Splash | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Multi-million-pound loss on hotel ‘not ideal’ says panel

Posted on November 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Whitehall-appointed inspectors raise serious doubts over the council’s property sales. By STEVEN DOWNES The council’s sale of the Croydon Park Hotel at a loss of as much as £10million has been condemned by government-appointed officials. Such a … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Callton Young, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Planning, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Cash-strapped council still going over-budget, report finds

Posted on November 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Government commissioners say that there’s been ‘an opportunity missed’ because of the slow pace of change under council CEO. By STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell, the chief executive of the cash-strapped council, has been subjected to overt criticism … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Ennis, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Jenrick ministry defends choice of all-white improvement panel

Posted on August 31, 2021 by insidecroydon

The government has been forced to defend its decision to appoint an all-white “improvement and assurance panel” to oversee Croydon Council’s efforts to recover from its financial collapse last year. In January, Robert Jenrick’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

£700,000: Croydon counting the costs of council failures

Posted on August 26, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Town Hall has been hit with ‘penalty fines’ of its own since its financial collapse 12 months ago. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES £697,300 And rising… That’s how much Croydon Council says it has paid so far, … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Report in the Public Interest, Robert Canning, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Government-appointed advisers pulled plug on BxB sale

Posted on July 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Improvement Panel’ ordered council to abandon its poor-value deal to sell Brick by Brick, and instead to pay Wates Construction £1.12m to oversee the loss-making builders’ work on 23 sites. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Hamida Ali, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Planning, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Homes England called in to check Brick by Brick sale value

Posted on June 23, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: There’s mounting concern over possible poor value for tax-payers in the ‘sweetheart’ deal arranged with Manchester developers. By STEVEN DOWNES Growing suspicions surrounding the too-good-to-be-true deal over the sale of loss-making house-builders Brick by Brick has seen … Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Government inspector’s concerns over BxB sweetheart deal

Posted on June 18, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jenrick’s improvement board raises serious questions over whether the quick sale of the council’s failed development company could end up costing tax-payers many millions of pounds, while its latest report criticises borough officials’ ‘lack of self-awareness’. By … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ali and Kerswell are summoned to Parliamentary inquiry

Posted on March 19, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘There is much that the council needs to do to become a properly functioning local authority’ says panel’s report to government, as it recommends more cuts to Croydon’s Adult Social Care and Children’s Services. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

‘Changing the culture of secrecy must be the turning point’

Posted on February 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE reports on the council leadership’s reaction to yesterday’s announcements from the local government ministry “We have a very long way to go,” the council leader, Hamida Ali, said, more than once, as she accepted the findings … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Robert Ward, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

£2,400 per day – the high cost of council’s ‘improvement’ panel

Posted on February 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

The annual cost of having Croydon officials’ work checked by Whitehall-appointed experts comes to ‘three-quarters of a Negrini’, as KEN LEE reports The Improvement Panel imposed on Croydon by the Tory government to check that the cash-strapped council is running … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments