Latest news with #CroydonCouncil
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Crisis-hit Croydon Council needs reset, MP says
A "short and sharp reset" is required for Croydon Council to recover from poor performance and high debt levels, the minister for housing, communities and local government has announced. Jim McMahon has told the House of Commons the council's financial position is "deteriorating rapidly" after a report highlighted concerns about its ability to improve. McMahon said that failing to change course "would condemn Croydon's residents to a worsening position without an exit strategy" and he was "minded to" send in commissioners to run the council. Executive mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, said he and the council "had done everything possible" to fix the finances "whilst protecting vital services". Perry added: "We have generated over £230m in capital receipts, including £130m of asset sales and have plans to sell a further £68m assets this year. "The council also raised council tax by 10% over the cap in 2023, to help meet the panel's demand that we close the gap in the council's finances." The council had been under review by the government's improvement and assurance panel, set up to provide external advice, challenge and expertise. McMahon said the council's general fund debt sits at around £1.4bn and it relies on the allocation of Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) through in-principle capitalisation directions to balance its budget. The panel's report has said there has been a lack of pace throughout the intervention, but the deteriorating financial position, which is not being gripped and tackled adequately by the council, is reaching a "financial crisis". McMahon added: "I am satisfied that the London Borough of Croydon is failing to comply with its Best Value Duty. I am therefore minded to exercise powers of direction under section 15(5) and 15(6) of the Local Government Act 1999 to implement an intervention package." Perry said, via a statement: "If at any time the panel or government felt that there was any action the council should be taking and was not, they had the power to instruct us. They never did. "Surely that means we are doing everything possible, and they agree with our actions? We have already made very difficult decisions and in my view the residents of Croydon have felt enough pain. "Despite all the improvements that have been delivered by the council and its staff, it appears the government wants to centralise control into the hands of commissioners." He said the council would consider all options before submitting its formal response to the government, the deadline for which is 25 June. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Croydon Council asks for £136m government bailout Council to make cuts to services to save £30m Croydon approves council tax rise of 15%
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Government to intervene in Croydon council as report warns of ‘financial crisis'
Government commissioners are being sent in to run Croydon council after a report found its finances were 'deteriorating rapidly' and it was heading for effective bankruptcy for the fourth time in recent years. Jim McMahon, the minister for local government, said he would be sending commissioners to run the council until July 2027, describing the local authority as 'one of the most financially distressed councils in the country'. 'The scale of the financial difficulties facing Croydon, the failure of the council to adequately respond to these difficulties and the assurance required moving forward means that a short and sharp reset, with fast action, is required to shift the dial on the council's recovery,' he said in a ministerial statement on Thursday. The council has hit back at the intervention, with the executive mayor, Jason Perry, saying the government, and the external panel which has been monitoring the council since 2020, had not previously told him the council should be taking more action. 'Surely that means we are doing everything possible, and they agree with our actions? We have already made very difficult decisions and in my view the residents of Croydon have felt enough pain,' he said. 'Despite all the improvements that have been delivered by the council and its staff, it appears the government wants to centralise control into the hands of commissioners.' McMahon said the latest report by the panel on the state of the council had found its 'deteriorating financial position, which is not being gripped and tackled adequately by the council, is reaching a financial crisis'. The council was increasingly relying on government support to balance its budget, its operating costs continued to be 'unreasonably high' and its debts were expected to rise to more than £1.9bn by 2029, McMahon said. The council's current debts sit at £1.4bn, and it has received about £553m in exceptional financial support from the government since 2021. Perry said the council had made savings of £167m over the past four years, and had sold off £130m worth of assets, with plans to sell a further £68m this year. Croydon council has declared effective bankruptcy three times since 2020, most recently in 2022 when the situation was blamed on 'unprecedented financial mismanagement, toxic bad debt and a lack of governance and transparency'. It raised council tax by 15% shortly afterwards. Croydon, London's largest borough with nearly 400,000 residents, was second only to Birmingham in the amount of exceptional financial support it got this year – £136m, up from £38m granted to the council in 2024-25. The latest announcement suggests Croydon could follow Birmingham with a series of brutal budget cuts and council tax hikes. Perry said he would not support cuts that would 'decimate local services' or any further council tax increases above the cap of 5% a year. Council leaders have criticised the government for failing to address the hole in local authority finances in Wednesday's spending review. Tim Oliver, the chair of the County Councils Network, said the sums announced 'fall well short of filling the projected £2.2bn funding gap faced by county and unitary councils next year, and consequently further service cuts will be hard to avoid'. Louise Gittins, the chair of the Local Government Association, said many authorities would have to increase 'council tax bills to try to protect services but still need to make further cutbacks'.
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Crisis-hit Croydon Council needs short, sharp reset minister says
A "short and sharp reset" is required for Croydon Council to recover from poor performance and high debt levels, the minister for housing, communities and local government has McMahon has told the House of Commons the council's financial position is "deteriorating rapidly" after a report highlighted concerns about its ability to improve. McMahon said that failing to change course "would condemn Croydon's residents to a worsening position without an exit strategy" and he was "minded to" send in commissioners to run the mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, said he and the council "had done everything possible" to fix the finances "whilst protecting vital services". Perry added: "We have generated over £230m in capital receipts, including £130m of asset sales and have plans to sell a further £68m assets this year. "The council also raised council tax by 10% over the cap in 2023, to help meet the panel's demand that we close the gap in the council's finances."The council had been under review by the government's improvement and assurance panel, set up to provide external advice, challenge and expertise. McMahon said the council's general fund debt sits at around £1.4bn and it relies on the allocation of Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) through in-principle capitalisation directions to balance its panel's report has said there has been a lack of pace throughout the intervention, but the deteriorating financial position, which is not being gripped and tackled adequately by the council, is reaching a "financial crisis".McMahon added: "I am satisfied that the London Borough of Croydon is failing to comply with its Best Value Duty. I am therefore minded to exercise powers of direction under section 15(5) and 15(6) of the Local Government Act 1999 to implement an intervention package." Perry said, via a statement: "If at any time the panel or government felt that there was any action the council should be taking and was not, they had the power to instruct us. They never did."Surely that means we are doing everything possible, and they agree with our actions? We have already made very difficult decisions and in my view the residents of Croydon have felt enough pain."Despite all the improvements that have been delivered by the council and its staff, it appears the government wants to centralise control into the hands of commissioners."He said the council would consider all options before submitting its formal response to the government, the deadline for which is 25 June.
Telegraph
02-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘Penny-pinching' London council axes lollipop ladies
Lollipop ladies and men are to be axed by a 'penny-pinching' south London council. Only six primary schools in Croydon still have crossing patrols to help children during pick-up and drop-off hours. But safety fears have been raised after the local authority confirmed plans to remove the service entirely in the borough by the end of the year as part of cost-cutting measures. Claire Bonham, a Liberal Democrat councillor, said she had been contacted by anxious parents worried about the move. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: 'They are rightly concerned that this will have an impact on their children's safety. 'Lollipop men and women are a valued part of the community, keeping children safe and providing a safe, reassuring presence for families on their way to school.' Cllr Bonham said she had written to Jason Perry, the council's Conservative mayor, 'to set out my opposition to cutting these services' which she said felt 'like penny-pinching'. Croydon's Labour Party has also criticised the decision, which was revealed following a freedom of information request by Inside Croydon, a local news website. The number of crossing patrols in Croydon had already been cut from 22 in 2011. Financial woes The council, which was controlled by Labour from 2014 to 2022 but is now led by a Conservative minority, has been struggling with its finances in recent years. The authority declared bankruptcy in 2023 and received a £136 million bailout from the taxpayer in February after projecting an overspend of £98 million this financial year. The council said the decision to axe lollipop men and women followed a 2022 service review, which was discussed in a committee meeting that year before being approved in a budget plan last October. It said the affected schools had been notified in March. A council spokesman said: 'Most patrols were phased out many years ago and risk assessments have been completed for the six remaining sites, with one now earmarked for a permanent crossing and three located on healthy school streets.'
BBC News
02-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Last lollipop patrols in Croydon to end this year
A south London council has said safety remains a priority as it plans to remove its remaining lollipop school crossing patrols by the end of the year. Croydon Council's cut, which affects six school sites across the borough, has been called "penny-pinching" by a decision, revealed through a Freedom of Information request by InsideCroydon, will see the crossing services during school drop-off and pick-up hours stopped at the end of the year. Road crossing safety is a non-statutory service, meaning the council is under no legal obligation to provide it. A spokesperson for the council said risk assessments had been completed and "road safety remains a priority". The six schools affected are:Cypress Infants and Juniors in South Norwood HillNorbury Manor Primary in NorburyOrchard Way Primary in ShirleyMonks Orchard Infants and Juniors in ShirleyOasis Academy Ryelands in WoodsideGreenvale Primary in SelsdonLib Dem councillor Claire Bonham told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she had been contacted by anxious parents in her Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood said: "They are rightly concerned that this will have an impact on their children's safety."Lollipop men and women are a valued part of the community, keeping children safe and providing a safe, reassuring presence for families on their way to school."Bonham said it felt "like penny-pinching" and said she had written to the council's Conservative mayor Jason Perry "to set out my opposition to cutting these services".Labour councillor Rowenna Davis, for Waddon ward, also criticised the budgetary school road safety patrols have been sharply reduced over the last decade. In 2011, there were 22, but a previous Conservative-led council cut that number in council said the recent decision followed a 2022 service review, which was discussed in committee in December 2022 before being approved in the budget plan in October added that the affected schools were notified in March this year.A Croydon Council spokesperson said: "Most patrols were phased out many years ago and risk assessments have been completed for the six remaining sites, with one now earmarked for a permanent crossing and three located on Healthy School Streets."The council said its road safety officer would continue to work with schools on its other programs.
