Croydon says scale of challenge facing council “remains significant”

In an update on its stabilisation plan and transformation programme, the council said the foundations for significant change had been put in place but that further work was needed to deliver results, strengthen financial stewardship and identify further savings.

The Government directed Croydon to continue implementing its improvement plans in July last year, when it appointed a team of commissioners to the local authority.

The intervention followed a series of Section 114 notices issued by the London borough after it amassed debts of around £1.6bn.

The council's report - which was sent to the Government in January this year but made public on Wednesday (1 July) - mainly detailed the authority's plans to improve its finances.

It said: "The scale of the challenge facing the Council remains significant. Foundations to make significant change have been put in place but this needs to be built upon to deliver results.

"The Council is continuing to review its financial strategy, embedding financial stewardship across directorates and identifying additional medium-term efficiency savings."

It continued: "Over the next six months, the Council’s priority will be to increase the pace of delivery of a smaller number of priorities that provide greater return on investment.”

Elsewhere, the report noted that Croydon had adopted a new streamlined governance arrangement to support delivery of its improvement programme.

This included the establishment of four delivery groups, with progress and risks overseen through the weekly Corporate Management meeting, which acts as the transformation board.

Croydon's commissioner team issued a separate report in February, which found "much that works well within the council", pointing to "respectful" debate among members and good ratings for the local authority's adult and children's services.

But commissioners said work still needs to be done to put the council on a stable financial footing, adding that Croydon continues to carry a high level of debt and requires Exceptional Financial Support.

Adam Carey