Croydon Council issues third Section 114 notice in two years

A newly discovered £48 million black hole in its accounts has led Croydon Council to issue a Section 114 Notice - the third since November 2020.

The third notice comes despite a £120 million bail-out by the government.

Conservative Mayor Jason Perry, who took office six months ago as the borough's first elected Mayor, claimed the council needed more government aid because “historic financial mismanagement has left the authority operationally unsustainable”.

The S114 Notice comes six months into the administration of Perry, the borough’s first elected Mayor, who took office shortly after the council had issued a balanced budget for 2022-2023 which was signed off by a government-appointed improvement panel.

An overspend of nearly £20million was accrued in the first 100 days of his mayoralty.

Perry chose today – the 32nd anniversary of Margaret Thatcher being kicked out as leader of the Conservative Party – for a roll of the dice over his own leadership of Croydon.

The government could now instal commissioners to run the authority full-time, as they have done with a handful of other struggling local authorities in recent months.