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Tag Archives: Michael Gove
£500m difference in audit figures is looking like a Brum deal
COUNCILS IN CRISIS: A report from forensic auditors has raised questions about one council’s bankruptcy that could persuade others, including cash-strapped Croydon, to ask whether they are getting proper analysis of their struggling finances An academic report into the parlous … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice
Tagged Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Financial Times, Grant Thornton, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Section 114 Notice, Tory, William Wallis
3 Comments
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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Watch out Michael Gove! Croydon Labour are coming for you!
The ink on the formal declaration of her election as a councillor for Woodside was barely dry before the names of one favoured Labour member was popping up as a parliamentary candidate. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Jess Rich has … Continue reading
Government blocks public inquiry into collapse of councils
Any suspicion that the Establishment that controls local and national government doesn’t want the public to find out about the shady deals that go on in Town Halls up and down the land will have been confirmed with the news … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Outside Croydon, Section 114 notice
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Essex, Katherine Kerswell, Liam Kavanagh, London Borough of Croydon, Michael Gove, S114, S114 notice, Section 114 Notice, Simon Hoare, Thurrock Council, 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
4 Comments
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
8 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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Croydon escapes worst effects of Gove’s ‘Developers’ Charter’
Tory minister takes a swipe at London Mayor as he moves to reduce planning restrictions and allow ‘some incredibly poor quality homes which should not have been built’ Croydon and Sutton might just escape the worst excesses of Michael Gove’s … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", 2024 London elections, Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Planning, Property, Sadiq Khan, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, George Clarke, Housing, Labour, London, London Assembly, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Michael Gove, Paul Scott, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
2 Comments
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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Gove’s extra cash barely touches the sides of Croydon’s debts
Michael Gove’s £600m hand-out to local authorities in England, announced yesterday, won’t go very far, especially if you consider that the Government’s own expert panel reckons Croydon alone needs £540m to wipe out a chunk of its toxic debt. By … Continue reading
Posted in 2024 General Election, Adult Social Care, Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Andrew Fisher, Conservative, Council Tax, Councils in Crisis, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Department for Levelling UP Housing and Communities, Jason Cummings, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Local Government Association, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Tory
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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
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
4 Comments
Perry pleads poverty when he has more Council Tax than ever
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The Government’s local council settlement announced on Monday saw Michael Gove give special licence to some authorities to hike their Council Tax by an eye-watering 10%. The reason our borough wasn’t on that list, says ANDREW PELLING, is … Continue reading
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
6 Comments
Mayor Perry is told to wait for £18.5m Levelling Up boost
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Business interests in the town centre will benefit from Government cash for cycling and walking schemes. But doubts surround whether Mayor Perry will manage to deliver a six-year-old Labour plan to open up College Green. By our … Continue reading
Posted in Business, College Green, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Cycling, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield Halls, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Waddon, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Levelling Up Fund, Matthew Sims, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Paul Scott, Tory, Waddon, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
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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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Tory Mayor Perry admits: ‘Essentially, we’re insolvent’. Again
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Without significant help from Government, the council is unable to find a solution to its debt crisis. By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council’s intractable financial problems will never be resolved until the Government agrees to write off hundreds … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jane West, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Rowenna Davis, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Scrutiny committee, Thurrock Council, Tony McArdle, Tory, Toxic debt, Woking Council
10 Comments
It’s a Brum do: fixing local government won’t come cheap
After the latest local authority’s finances crashed and burned, and with Michael Gove twiddling his thumbs doing nothing before the General Election, ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, looks at what needs to be done to fix local government in England Councils … Continue reading
Posted in 2024 General Election, Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Andrew Fisher, Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner MP, Birmingham City Council, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottingham City Council, Thurrock, Tory, Woking
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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
21 Comments
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
21 Comments
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
7 Comments
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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