Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Croydon CEO Katherine Kerswell rejects a government decision during a staff Q&A session, highlighting tensions over central intervention policies.
The £204,000-a-year CEO sent a long letter justifying her stance the day after local government minister Jim McMahon revealed plans that would see Commissioners appointed to manage Croydon.
The sensitive paper was acquired by our Town Hall reporter, Ken Lee.
When Katherine Kerswell sent out a 1,500-word briefing memo to all council employees on Friday, she was at her most condescending and passive-aggressive.
The government’s declaration that it plans to send in Commissioners to oversee the council’s operations following years of failure by the CEO and her leadership team stoked bitterness and disobedience in Kerswell’s letter.
Increasing the borough’s debt to £2.2 billion by late 2027 is the best plan that Kerswell and Tory Mayor Jason Perry have come up with. The improvement and assurance panel, which was previously docile and was installed in Fisher’s Folly, called these proposals “impossible” in its most recent report to the MHCLG, stating that they would cause Croydon Council to completely “collapse.”
Despite being aware of the impending government announcement on Thursday, Kerswell spent the previous evening at a lavish awards ceremony at a hotel in Mayfair, where Croydon was nominated for “Most Improved Council” based on a submission submitted by Croydon Council and accepted by Kerswell.
What follows is Kerswell’s interpretation of what happened during the council’s most recent painful week.
Due to the council’s severe financial difficulties, the government declared on June 12 that they are “minded to” appoint Commissioners at Croydon. They also requested comments before making a decision this summer.
They are still in the process of deciding how we will react to the government and present our preferred course of action for future collaboration.
Council members are elected representatives, while the Executive Mayor continues to serve as the council’s political leader. Senior officers—such as the director of children’s services and the Section 151 officer—remain in their positions and carry out their mandated duties.
They will respond to the government’s pronouncement that they are “minded to” appointing Commissioners, even if they haven’t done so yet.
This is a result of both our historical debt and the strains that all councils are under as a result of the increased demand for our services and the increased expenses associated with providing them.
The final letter from the improvement panel, which was also released on June 12, served as the basis for the government’s declaration.
Croydon Council disagrees with the panel’s letter’s conclusions, even though they acknowledge that the government seeks confirmation that Croydon is providing the best value for its citizens.
Because of its content, they have expressed concerns to the authorities.
Before sending the government its official response, the council will weigh all of its alternatives.
Jason Perry, the Executive Mayor of Croydon, responded to the government’s news with the following statement:
Mayor Perry said:
“My top priority has always been to fix the council’s finances for our residents. We have done everything possible [our italics, again] to achieve this at a local level whilst protecting vital services.
Croydon Council has made savings of £167million over the last four years and will make £50million more savings this year. We have generated over £230million in capital receipts, including £130million of asset sales and have plans to sell a further £68million 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.
We have a fully-funded two-year transformation plan to significantly reduce the cost of delivering our services. [Editor’s note: that transformation plan – meaning more cuts – is “fully-funded” in the sense of being paid for with huge amounts of additional borrowing].”
According to Mayor Perry, he is unwilling to support any cuts that would severely impair local services [Editor’s note: because he has already done that himself]. He is also not willing to renege on his pledge to the people that there would be no more increases in council taxes above the government cap [Editor’s note: after he had himself requested the 15% Council Tax increase in 2023].
The government has requested suggestions and stated that it is “minded to” select commissioners, but no decisions have been taken as of yet.
This gives the council and others a chance to react, and we are currently getting ready to do so.
They are aware that the government requires confirmation that the council is fulfilling its Best Value Duty to the people.
According to Mayor Perry, he is unwilling to support any cuts that would severely impair local services [Editor’s note: because he has already done that himself]. He is also not willing to renege on his pledge to the people that there would be no more increases in council taxes above the government cap [Editor’s note: after he had himself requested the 15% Council Tax increase in 2023].
The government has requested suggestions and stated that it is “minded to” select commissioners, but no decisions have been taken as of yet.
This gives the council and others a chance to react, and we are currently getting ready to do so.
They are aware that the government requires confirmation that the council is fulfilling its Best Value Duty to the people.
It is crucial to keep in mind that workforce changes, including the appointment of commissioners, will be subject to the standard consultation procedures.
They have already stated that our transformation program would result in changes to the workforce, and we will proceed with their planned work on these.
They developed a stabilisation plan earlier this year at the request of our panel in order to expedite aspects of the council’s transformation programme, Future Croydon, and to generate an extra £27.3 million in savings this fiscal year [Editor’s note: that is “additional” to the £23 million cuts already planned].
Their corporate plan, which establishes our priorities and service strategies, is still the Mayor’s Business Plan.
In order to make our borough a place where Croydon residents can once again be proud to call home, the plan aims to change the council into one that provides reliable and sustainable local government services.
How does Kerswell justify her stance against government intervention in Croydon?
Katherine Kerswell uses the council’s notable accomplishments in spite of dire financial difficulties to support her argument against government involvement in Croydon. She noted that Croydon has fulfilled 96% of the requirements established by the government’s improvement panel in a long internal message to council employees.
She also commended the commitment and expertise of council personnel in providing residents with improved services.
Citing the council’s past £1.4 billion debt and the £136 million in extraordinary financial support required for 2025–2026, Kerswell acknowledged the severity of the financial issues facing the council.
She did, however, contend that these difficulties are mostly caused by outside forces, such as growing service demand and escalating expenses that impact many councils across the country.