The Croydon Mayor has clashed with the government over plans to appoint commissioners to oversee how the council is run. The South London council currently has a spiralling debt bill of £1.4bn, having previously gone bankrupt three times between 2020 and 2022.
Jason Perry says Croydon Council cannot become financially sustainable until a solution, such as a debt write off, is agreed. The executive mayor said: “Croydon has gone further and faster than most to tackle its financial challenges head on, and our circumstances are among the most challenging of any in the country.
“With a raft of external partners saying our Council is well run, this would be the first time the Government has removed power from elected representatives where there has been no identified failure in governance.
“Independent reports – including from our Government-appointed Improvement and Assurance Panel – all agree that the problem lies with the Council’s £1.4bn structural debt, much of which is not backed by assets. On top of this we are grappling with the spiralling demand and increased costs that all councils are facing.”
‘We do not believe sending in commissioners is the right plan for Croydon’
He added the council has repeatedly pressed the government for a long-term solution to the debt, rather than being encouraged to sell off assets or borrow more money. Mr Perry continued: “We fully understand that the Government needs assurance that we are doing all we can to fix the finances and deliver best value to our residents, but we do not believe sending in commissioners is the right plan for Croydon.
“We have put forward alternative proposals and we look forward to receiving their response. As the elected Mayor of Croydon, I have always put the needs of Croydon residents first and will continue to do so. I will not standby and allow the decimation of our home borough because of the past actions of a reckless few.”
The Tory mayor wants the government to perform a new review of the council’s finances and advice on how it can regain responsibility of the money spent. He previously referred to the proposed takeover as a “naked political attack” from the Labour government.
If appointed, commissioners would be tasked with implementing a stabilisation plan, overseeing spending cuts and structural reforms that Secretary of State for Local Government Jim McMahon believes the council has so far struggled to deliver. The intervention, expected to last until July 2027, would be reviewed after 12 months, but officials insist this is the only way to drive real change at the pace Croydon now desperately needs.
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