Tag Archives: Lisa Taylor

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

#PennReport: Croydon has been let down by political leaders

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The report into the council’s financial collapse that has been withheld for nearly two years includes damning criticisms of some of the council’s most senior staff and political leaders. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s dysfunctional council went … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

#PennReport wanted police probe into possible misconduct

CROYDON IN CRISIS: For nearly two years, the council has withheld a detailed report into ‘possible wrong-doing’ at the Town Hall, together with recommendations for a Met Police investigation and the seeking of a refund on the £437,000 pay-off to … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Crime, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Inside Croydon, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Council exec Simmonds quits after 18 months ‘gardening leave’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The final obstacle to the release of the Penn Report into possible wrongdoing in Croydon has finally been removed, just ahead of an Employment Tribunal hearing this week. By STEVEN DOWNES Hazel Simmonds, one of five council … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Secret report into wrong-doing at council still kept under wraps

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Eighteen months after an investigation into how the council’s finances collapsed, the report into the affair – which prompted the resignation of the council leader and four execs – remains unpublished. And the council CEO intends keeping … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Joy Prince, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Lynne Hale, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Newman and Negrini’s pay-off: no papers, no notes, no reasons

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Last week’s news that former chief exec Jo Negrini’s total reward for failure at the council amounted to an eye-watering £613,000 of tax-payers’ cash raised further questions about how such a payment was agreed and who authorised … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Simon Hall, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Suspended director sues Kerswell for ‘race discrimination’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council running one of the country’s most ethnically diverse boroughs could be dragged through the courts, with one of its rare BAME directors accusing it, and its chief executive, of racism. By STEVEN DOWNES Hazel Simmonds, … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tories miss chance to call for police action over Fairfield fiasco

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on the latest fall-out from the £37m overspend on the arts venue as the borough’s councillors – Tory as well as Labour – appear reluctant to turn their old mates over to the police The council … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Negrini and execs ‘failed to ensure council was acting lawfully’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: An auditors’ report into the ‘shoddy’ deal that handed the Fairfield Halls refurbishment to loss-making builders Brick by Brick hints at potential fraud and accuses senior officials of large-scale negligence. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Some … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Exec director resigned week before suspension was announced

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Minutes from another council’s meeting shows that Guy Van Dichele was offered a job in Southampton eight days before he was ‘suspended’ from his post as executive director ‘health, well-being and adults’. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Documents … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Robert Henderson, Shifa Mustafa | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Two executive directors in shock resignations from council

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Staff were told this afternoon that two of the ‘executive leadership team’ who were suspended from duty last week have quit their jobs. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Guy Van Dichele, Croydon’s executive director “health, well-being and adults”, … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

‘Unintended consequences’: government scraps pay-off cap

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Political editor WALTER CRONXITE finds that the era of half-million-pound rewards for failure might not be over at the council just yet Those council exec directors on six-figure salaries who are sweating on the outcome of a … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Kerswell cull: ‘This is a really difficult situation’ says CEO

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on the latest bulletin to council staff intended, perhaps, to keep up morale In the vintage (and not very “woke”) BBC sitcom Are You Being Served, the doddering old proprietor of … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Kerswell cull begins: five senior council execs go ‘off-grid’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Monday night’s constitutional changes at the Town Hall were quickly followed by ‘unprecedented’ action from the interim CEO. By STEVEN DOWNES Almost the whole of the senior leadership team at the council “went off-grid” today. Inside Croydon … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Council set to lend more money to failing Brick by Brick

CROYDON IN CRISIS: When in a hole, stop digging? Not Croydon’s bankrupt council, which is ‘damned if it does, damned if it doesn’t’ according to a senior Tory councillor over plans to throw more cash at its loss-making house-builder. KEN … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Now Scott tries to play the blame game over Brick by Brick

Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on how the chief architect of the council’s disastrous housing policy is trying to salvage his reputation Paul Scott, part of the clique which led Croydon Council to bankruptcy, broke cover at a virtual Town … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Housing, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Martyn Evans, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Council’s Christmas present to Croydon: another S114 notice

Ho! Ho! Ho! The countdown to Christmas at the council’s Fisher Folly offices began in earnest this morning with the issuing of a Section 114 notice – another one – signalling that officials are still unable to deliver a balanced … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Kerswell tries to gag council staff over Section 114 crisis

Council staff have been ordered not to read or talk to Inside Croydon. Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on how the council’s £192,000 per year CEO has quickly adopted the bunker mentality of her discredited predecessor Katherine Kerswell has been … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The cuts: Fisher’s Folly to be sold and 3-weekly bin collections

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The problem facing Croydon Council as it seeks to balance its books is that, after a decade of Tory austerity, there’s precious little left to cut. STEVEN DOWNES reports The frustration with the slow pace of progress … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Alisa Flemming, Andrew Fisher, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Lisa Taylor, Refuse collection, Report in the Public Interest, Schools, Section 114 notice, Timothy Godfrey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

£36m Brick by Brick ‘risk’ helped to trigger Croydon’s S114

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council finance director says that the loss-making house-builder’s failure to pay dividends was a primary cause of her issuing the Section 114 notice. By STEVEN DOWNES More than half of the council’s forecast £66million overspend in this … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments