Croydon Council has committed to continue to lobby the government for a change in the law so that public servants can be properly held to account for misconduct.

A unanimous, cross-party committee decision was made in 2023 to take unprecedented steps to seek to hold former Council officers and elected members to account for the historical financial mismanagement and governance failures that led to Croydon being saddled with £1.6bn of debt.

This included referring a suite of reports on financial mismanagement, including the independent Penn and Kroll reports, to the police and reporting the individuals to the professional bodies of which they were members.

All responses to the referrals have been received and one case of misconduct was upheld against Lisa Taylor, former Director of Finance, Investment and Risk and Section 151 Officer at Croydon Council. She has been severely reprimanded and fined by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Referrals made to professional bodies in respect of two other former members of staff are still being investigated.

Members of Croydon Council’s Appointments and Disciplinary Committee, who met on 27 January, were disappointed that other professional bodies have either decided not to take action or lacked the powers to do so.

The police reported in 2024 that whilst they found potential wrongdoing, breaches of statutory duty and incompetence – which they highlighted as collective failings rather than individual instances of Misconduct in Public Office and no further action was taken.

The Committee has renewed its commitment to lobby the government on this issue on behalf of Croydon’s residents. It maintains that the current powers to prosecute people in public office for serious failures and breaches of statutory duty is inadequate. It is calling for a change in the law so that individuals can be held to account for failings.

“We have been rigorous in pursuing the people responsible for the Council’s financial situation and to hold them to account. We know our residents are angry about past failures and we are working to put this right.

“Whilst I welcome the outcome from three professional bodies who are taking these allegations seriously, we are hugely disappointed that further action is not being taken, despite the catalogue of failures by many individuals.

“I have previously written to the government calling for a change in the law so we can hold people to account for their conduct in public office. I will continue to campaign for change in this area on behalf of Croydon’s residents.”

Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon

Croydon has made significant improvements to address the historic financial and governance mismanagement which led to the Council issuing a S114, often referred to as a declaration of bankruptcy by a local authority, in 2020. These include new internal controls and more rigorous governance.

Under the Future Croydon transformation programme, the Council is working at pace to become a more efficient and cost effective Council that can manage the increased demand for essential services.

The Penn report was commissioned through the Local Government Association (LGA), after auditors Grant Thornton issued the council with a Report in the Public Interest (RIPI) in November 2020. The RIPI highlighted serious financial and governance failings and made a number of recommendations for improvement.

The Kroll report was an independent review looking into the refurbishment of Fairfield Halls. It was called the Kroll report because it was conducted by independent forensic auditors, Kroll. It was commissioned by the Council to provide clarity over the probity and integrity of decision making around the project, why it ran over budget and schedule, governance failures and whether there was any evidence of potential wrongdoing by individuals.

Kroll found no ‘evidence of any fraud or direct personal gain’. The Police also concluded that there was ‘no evidence of false accounting or fraud’.