Campaigning has started against the possibility of Mayor Perry implementing a 15% increase in Council Tax which the Government has agreed he can do to achieve a balanced budget for 2023-4.
- South London Tourist Board is calling for people to join a demonstration outside the Town Hall on 1 March.
- Inside Croydon has launched a petition: https://www.change.org/p/no-to-15-council-tax-hike-fund-croydon-fairly
- On Thursday night Croydon TUC agreed to support the demonstration.
- CTUC is organising a special meeting to discuss how to encourage people to join in and other campaigning methods on Saturday 18 February at 2pm at Ruskin House. All activists from different communities are welcome to attend.
Even with a 15% rise such an increase in income will still require cuts to public services. Such a rise will put further pressure on many residents already struggling with the cost of living crisis.
The background is detailed in Inside Croydon, which reveals that the Council is having to pay on its £1.6 billion borrowing, which includes £1billion-worth of debt built up by the Conservative administration in office to 2014, in which Perry was a senior member. He does not acknowledge this in his statement:
https://news.croydon.gov.uk/statement-from-mayor-perry-on-council-tax.
During the early days of the financial crisis I urged Councillors to reveal the size of the Tory debt inheritance but got no reply.
Whether the Opposition Parties can prevent Perry implementing the rise remains to be seen. Their first attempt will come at the Scutiny & Overview Committee being held on 16 February which will consider the Cabinet’s report on budget setting, although the document has not yet been loaded onto the Council website.
Whatever increase is agreed the question of legality remains given the Council Constitution has not yet been updated to make provision for the Mayor.
Digital Poverty And Keeping Residents Informed
Given the scale of digital poverty as documented by Digital Poverty Alliance the Mayor must consider how to inform every household of what the Council is doing. The former magazine should be re-instated.
Concern About The Future Of The Library and Archive Services
Concern is growing about the future of the Library Service and the limited opening hours of the Local Studies Reading Room means that the many in depth-researchers are finding it impossible to undertake serious work. It would be unfortunate if the Library Service is further curtailed and the opening hours of the Reading room not increased given the start of Croydon Borough of Culture in April.
Other Councils Problems
More and more Councils are also experiencing financial crisis mainly due to the cuts in Government funding since 2010. The government also granted permission to Thurrock Council and Slough BC to increase council tax by an additional 5% blaming ‘significant failures in local leadership and management.’ (Local Government Chronicle. 7 February.)
Alternative Strategy To The Financial Crisis Ignored
In February 2021 I wrote to the then Secretary of State outlining a completely different approach to dealing with Croydon’s financial crisis that would take account of the adverse health and economic and social effects of the COVID pandemic and of the climate change crisis. Such an approach could include the Government:
(1) meeting all COVID expenditure not re-funded to-date;
(2) meeting the short fall in funding for unaccompanied children;
(3) amending the local government funding formula to recognise the extent of Croydon’s Inner London needs;
(4) moving more civil servants into Croydon empty office buildings after the end of the COVID pandemic;
(5) purchasing and leasing back Bernard Weatherill House to the Council;
(6) approving and funding a Croydon Bank to enable the Council, the NHS, Croydon College, and businesses to invest in Croydon;
(7) re-determining the fare structure between Streatham Common and East and West Croydon to reduce computing from the south and resultant air pollution along London Rd;
(8) approving the proposed new selective landlord licensing scheme;
(9) improving private tenants’ rights including on length of tenancies, evictions and rent levels; (10) exempting Croydon from meeting the housing targets in the London Plan in favour of a requirement of planning applicants to meet local housing need as identified by the Council, with an emphasis on providing new homes at rents equivalent to those levied by the Council for the housing towns;
(11) legislating a requirement that the Whitgift Foundation as freeholder owner of the Whitgift Centre to contribute money to the Council for Town Centre investment.
I also suggested that the Government could also consider agreeing additional funding allocations to Croydon for:
(1) skills training and the creation of green jobs;
(2) joint action with the Environment Agency to improve anti-flooding measures, including along the Norbury Brook;
(3) the sustainability and development of community and voluntary and social enterprise sector organisations;
(4) the expansion of youth, mental health and domestic violence services and projects;
(5) for all libraries to remain open and improve their offer to be developed by joint management committees with residents organisations and library users;
(6) the development of the Museum and Archive service and support the continued operation of Fairfield Halls, and those working in culture to remain in business, in order to contribute to the Borough of Culture 2023 programme;
(7) for work on improvements to parks and green spaces in partnership with Friends groups through joint management committees, including providing specialist skills training;
(8) the implementation of the Town Centre District Heating Scheme;
(9) the creation of neighbourhood decision making committees comprised of the local Councillors, community and voluntary, businesses and workforces in order to ensure that the Council’s projects and services are meeting local needs.
Of course these suggestions were ignored by the Secretary of State and by the Labour Council which I copied them to.
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