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Tag Archives: Section 114
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
Dear Angela: It’s time for you to act and fund Croydon fairly
Last month, the Croydon Mayor wrote to the Deputy Prime Minister begging for an urgent meeting to resolve the council’s long-standing financial problems after 14 years of Tory austerity. Angela Rayner did not reply. So now ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Andrew Fisher, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Section 114 notice, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North
Tagged Adult Social Care, Andrew Fisher, Angela Rayner, Children's Services, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fund Croydon Fairly, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Public libraries, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Steve Reed OBE, Streatham and Croydon North, Tory
16 Comments
Minister McMahon snubs Croydon Mayor over ‘urgent’ meeting
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Keir Starmer’s new government seems in no rush to deal with the deep-seated problems caused by 14 years of austerity inflicted on local councils, as Jason Perry’s plea for an urgent meeting is given a cold shoulder … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Angela Rayner, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jim McMahon, Keir Starmer, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Toxic debt
5 Comments
Council’s action over Negrini pay-off ‘looks dead in the water’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Despite a bit of grandstanding by Tory Mayor that he would ‘hold to account’ those responsible for bankrupting the borough, an official Freedom of Information response shows that the council is actually doing nothing. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Simpson, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Richard Simpson, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Shifa Mustafa
7 Comments
Perry admits he has failed in begging letter to Labour’s Rayner
With bail-outs since 2021 of £417m, Croydon’s executive Mayor says that he cannot deliver ‘balanced’ budgets, as he asks the new government to do what his chums in the previous Conservative government refused to do: write off part of the … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Uncategorized
Tagged Angela Rayner MP, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, Levelling Up, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Mike Fisher, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
11 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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£603,000: the soaring costs of Croydon’s ‘improvement’ panel
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Three years since Tony McArdle and his government-appointed team of troubleshooters were parachuted into the council, there are mounting questions about what they have achieved. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The Government-appointed chair of Croydon Council’s “improvement and … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Libraries, Section 114 notice, SEND, Tony McArdle
Tagged Bankrupt, Chrildren's Services, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Eleanor Brazil, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Levelling, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Phil Brookes, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory
12 Comments
No hiding place for Jason Perry, Croydon’s impotent Mayor
CROYDON IN CRISIS: From a couple of hundred attendees soon after he was first elected, Croydon’s part-time Mayor is now drawing crowds of only a couple of dozen for his council-funded promotional tour. KEN TOWL went along to South Norwood … Continue reading
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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‘Can’t deal with debt’ admits Perry as he borrows £38m more
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council staff morale ‘at an all-time low’ according to a national newspaper report, while the bankrupt borough’s part-time Mayor’s only answer to its financial struggles is to borrow even more money Last week, Inside Croydon columnist Andrew … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Clive Betts, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Financial Times, London Borough of Croydon, S114 notice, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
4 Comments
Kerswell keeps councillors waiting for her tribunal feedback
CROYDON IN CRISIS: How will the borough’s £192,474 per year chief executive explain the suggestion that she lied under oath when defending herself against allegations of racism? By KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter Almost a month has passed since the … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Richard Simpson, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle
Tagged #PennReport, Appointments and disciplinary committee, Croydon, Croydon Council, Employment Tribunal, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Section 114, The Penn Report
12 Comments
Tribunal judge finds no evidence of racism or unfair dismissal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A landmark judgement, handed down today, determined that the council did not act in a racist, prejudicial or harrassing manner towards one of its former senior staff members. By STEVEN DOWNES This was one battle that David … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report
Tagged Browne Jacobson, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Employment Tribunal, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Judge Adam Leith, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Patricia Leonard, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, To encourage the others
2 Comments
CEO Kerswell could face crucial cross-examination at Tribunal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A hearing for an employment dispute alleging unfair dismissal and racism brought by one of the council’s senior members of staff at the time of its financial collapse has done more to expose bullying and cover-ups at … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report
Tagged Admiral Byng, Browne Jacobson, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Employment Tribunal, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Judge Adam Leith, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Lynne Hale, Patricia Leonard, S114, S114 notice, Section 114, To encourage the others, Voltaire
9 Comments
Perry to host webinar on his plans for more cuts and more debt
Croydon Mayor Jason Perry is staging a webinar on Monday, at which the public can “hear more about the council’s budget proposals for next year”, according to the council. Perry and Jason Cummings, the cabinet member for finance, the Tory … Continue reading
Mayor Perry confesses: it could take 10 years to fix this mess
Jason Perry, cash-strapped Croydon’s £84,000 per year Mayor who was elected last year on a manifesto promise that he would “fix the finances”, now reckons it could take him until 2034 to get the job done. And part-time Perry feels … Continue reading
‘Teetering on the edge’: Hunt does nothing for local councils
TV politics pundit ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, assesses the fine detail of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, and amid the tax giveaways for the already wealthy, identifies the glaring gaps in financial provision for the NHS, teachers and local authorities like … Continue reading
Posted in 2024 London elections, Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Council
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Andrew Bailey, Andrew Fisher, Autumn Statement, Bank of England, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, HM Treasury, Homelessness, Jeremy Hunt, No-fault evictions, OBR, Office for Budget Responsibility, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Tory
4 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
2 Comments
99% councils miss accounts deadline in ‘public admin disaster’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Only 101 people in the country are qualified to carry out essential audit work on public bodies, the lack of proper scrutiny putting £100bn of public spending at risk according to a report from a Commons committee … Continue reading
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
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
3 Comments
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
9 Comments
Perry is now asking Croydon public how to fix financial mess
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After issuing the first pre-emptive S114 Notice in British history, the borough’s £81,000 per year Mayor is using a budget survey to justify future cuts to services. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Bereft of ideas – beyond … Continue reading
Tory blame game over bankruptcy points finger at Westminster
There was something archly cynical, and deliberately misleading, about how Croydon’s Conservatives turned Tuesday’s announcement of the borough’s bankruptcy into an exercise in political point-scoring. None of which will help the borough’s residents, writes ANDREW FISHER Croydon’s Conservative councillors were … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Fisher, Chris Philp MP, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged Department for Levelling Up, Devon County Council, DLUHC, Hampshire County Council, Jason Cummings, Kent County Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Northamptonshire, S114, Section 114, Slough Council, Thurrock
8 Comments
