To debate any motions submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.
The following two Motions, one from the Administration and one from the Leader of the Opposition, will be debated:
Conservative Group Motion
'This Council notes the decision of the Appointments and Disciplinaries Committee on 23rd March 2023.
Those who caused Croydon Councils financial downfall must be held to account. It is vital that all avenues are pursued to ensure that residents anger and desire for accountability are recognised.’
Labour Group Motion
This council recognises the progress that has been made since November 2020 in addressing the council’s financial and governance problems.
This council further notes that these improvements were acknowledged by – amongst others – a Non Statutory Rapid Review and the Improvement & Assurance Panel, with the latter acknowledging the “creditable progress that had been made” during the period of the last Labour administration.
This council is disappointed to note the recent announcement by the Secretary of State at DHLUC that he is minded to intervene in the governance of Croydon following his conclusion that the council under the leadership of Mayor Perry is not meeting its Best Value Duty.
This council recognises that all councillors have a role to play in ensuring that the council once again meets its Best Value Duty.
This council therefore calls on the Mayor to set out how he intends to work more collaboratively with councillors from all political parties represented on the council to ensure the authority continues at greater pace, its improvement journey.
Minutes:
Moving the Conservative Group Debate Motion, Mayor Jason Perry stated that he shared the anger of residents and that the police would be considering whether to take action on misconduct in public office, and that legal action would be taken against the former Chief Executive.
Councillor Karen Jewitt, speaking on behalf of the Opposition, stated that the issues were collective and systematic and that lessons should be learnt, instead of seeking to blame individuals. Councillor Jewitt argued that the council did not have the time or resources to put into these investigations.
Councillor Callton Young stated that is was not clear from the council’s announcement that the decisions of the former committee was cross-party, and that it was the then Monitoring Officer who informed Council that the external auditor’s report would be reviewed if there were further concerns over fraud.
Councillor Lynne Hale, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Homes, stated that the financial impact from those actions would be felt by residents for many years to come, and that it was unfair and appalling that residents were now to pay for the actions of former well-remunerated public office holders, and that it was only right those people should be held to account now.
Councillor Lynne Hale seconded the motion. The Chair put the motion to the vote and Council:
RESOLVED, to:
Hold to account those who caused Croydon Council’s financial downfall, and to pursue all avenues to ensure that residents’ anger and desire for accountability were recognised.
The Chair then moved to extend the meeting time for up to a maximum of thirty minutes. This was seconded by Councillor Mario Creatura and agreed by Council.
Councillor Stuart King, Leader of the Opposition, then spoke in support of the Labour Group Debate Motion, stating that they had long acknowledged the financial and governance weaknesses and their role in contributing to the situation. However, Councillor King argues that the council was not meeting its best value duty and that members needed to put their differences aside to improve.
Councillor Jason Cummings, on behalf of the Administration, argued that the recent direction from the Assurance and Improvement Panel was disappointing but reasonable given the level of support required from Central Government to set a balanced budget. Councillor J Cummings also stated that collaboration had improved on previous years and that he pledged to continue to do cross-party engagement to improve outcomes.
Councillor Richard Chatterjee expressed the need to listen to each other for the betterment and protection of the council’s communities, and that Scrutiny had been achieving this by collectively adopting an independent mindset for good decision-making, as advised by the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CFGS).
Councillor Chris Clark welcomed commitment to cross-party talks to ensure that together members were able to achieve the changes needed in the community now and over the next three years.
Councillor Chris Clark seconded the motion. The Chair then put the motion to the vote, and Council:
RESOLVED, to:
Call on the Mayor to set out how he intended to work more collaboratively with councillors from all political parties represented on the Council to ensure the authority continued its improvement journey at greater pace.