Katherine Kerswell
Council: Croydon
Committees:
Activity Timeline
Meetings Attended Note this may include planned future meetings.
44 meetings · Page 1 of 9
Cabinet - Wednesday, 3rd December, 2025 6.30 pm
At a meeting of Croydon Council's cabinet, the allocation of funds for transport projects and potential new conservation areas were among the key items discussed and approved, while updates were presented on environmental enforcement and the council's financial performance. The cabinet also agreed to move to quarterly financial performance reports, with a summary published in the intervening months.
Appointments & Disciplinary Committee - Monday, 1st December, 2025 2.30 pm, NEW
The Appointments & Disciplinary Committee met to discuss the recommendation to appoint an interim chief executive, as well as to agree the minutes of previous meetings. The recommendation was for Elaine Jackson, the substantive Assistant Chief Executive, to be appointed as Interim Chief Executive for a period of 12 months. The agenda also included agreement of the minutes of previous meetings.
Cabinet - Wednesday, 19th November, 2025 6.30 pm
The Croydon Council cabinet met to discuss the 2026-30 medium term financial strategy, safeguarding, social care, housing and financial performance, and agreed to implement recommendations regarding scrutiny, safeguarding, social work and housing. The cabinet approved recommendations to keep the Council Tax Support scheme unchanged, and to review it in 2026-27. They also approved the Regina Road regeneration project, and noted progress on the housing strategy.
Appointments & Disciplinary Committee - Wednesday, 29th October, 2025 10.00 am, NEW
The Appointments & Disciplinary Committee of Croydon Council is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 29 October 2025. The meeting will include interviewing shortlisted candidates for the position of Director of Streets and Environment. Due to the confidential nature of the interviews, the meeting is expected to move into a private session.
Appointments & Disciplinary Committee - Tuesday, 28th October, 2025 10.00 am, NEW
The Croydon Council Appointments & Disciplinary Committee met on Tuesday 28 October 2025 to progress interviews for the role of Director of Property, Procurement and Capital. The meeting was scheduled to move into a closed session for the interviews.
Decisions from Meetings
107 decisions · Page 3 of 22
Progress Review of Housing Strategy
From: Cabinet - Wednesday, 19th November, 2025 6.30 pm - November 19, 2025
Following the events at Regina Road in March 2021, the Ark report identified a failing housing service with a lack of care and respect for the residents it was in place to serve. Citing inadequate communication, a lack of joint working with residents and a repairs contract that was struggling to deliver, the report identified severe weaknesses in the customer experiences of Croydon’s tenants and leaseholders. As a result, the council self-referred to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH). Identifying the breach of two consumer standards, the RSH then served a regulatory notice on the Council which was followed by regulatory intervention. In addition to the regulatory notice, the Council’s housing needs service was facing significant pressure, with residents waiting over six months to be assessed for homelessness services and an over-reliance on manual systems leading to poor record keeping and data loss, impacting grant funding and accurate reporting to MHCLG. Here also, the lack of respect accorded to those experiencing homelessness was notable. To tackle the serious failings in late 2022, a Housing Transformation Programme, to be delivered under the umbrella of a new housing department, was developed jointly with residents and staff. Following this, after a comprehensive consultation with residents and key partners, the Council approved its Housing Strategy and Delivery Plan on 13 December 2023. The Housing Strategy was a key component for improving services in that it set out the principal challenges for housing and the Council’s five-year priorities for improving services for residents. Alongside the Strategy, the Delivery Plan includes service-specific targets and objectives. This report provides an assessment of progress of key achievements over the first 18 months. It highlights significant accomplishments associated with housing landlord services and housing needs including: - Onboarding of new repair contractors and a new repair contact centre now achieving excellent response times (95% call answering rate) – - Creation of robust new resident involvement structures and meaningful consultation leading to the co-creation of key strategies and policies. - Adherence to Building and Fire safety act requirements providing safety assurance to our residents. - Significant reduction in void turnaround times, reducing wait times for our residents. - In a time of rising homelessness, reducing the percentage of applicants booked into temporary accommodation from 66% (2022) to 15% (2025) whilst eliminating the numbers of households using B&Bs for over six weeks. - Approval of Regina Road Planning Application to demolish and rebuild the housing estate providing safe, warm and secure new housing for 340 households of which 215 are for social rent. In April 2025, in recognition of an improving situation, the RSH lifted the Regulatory Notice served on the Council’s landlord services in 2021. This key milestone was followed by encouraging outcomes from Council-commissioned inspections of management and repairs and maintenance. The report also recognises the difficult challenges that the Housing Service still faces. Within the Housing Needs Service the levels of homelessness remain historically high. Whilst in landlord services ensuring that our housing stock is in good condition, and that the service is compliant with the requirements of the Regulator’s Consumer Standards, is essential.
Recommendations Approved
2026-30 Medium Term Financial Strategy Update
From: Cabinet - Wednesday, 19th November, 2025 6.30 pm - November 19, 2025
...to note the updated financial forecast and medium-term financial strategy assumptions, the dialogue with Government regarding financial sustainability, the outcome of the review of the Council Tax Support scheme, to approve recommendations to Full Council to maintain the current Council Tax Support scheme and review it in 2026-27, to note the budget timetable, and to note Croydon Council’s response to the Government’s Fair Funding Reform 2.0 consultation.
Recommendations Approved
SCRUTINY STAGE 2: Responses to Recommendations arising from: Homes Sub-Committee on 19 June 2025, Streets & Environment Sub-Committee on 24 June 2025, and the Children & Young People Sub-Committee on 1 July 2025
From: Cabinet - Wednesday, 19th November, 2025 6.30 pm - November 19, 2025
This report invited Cabinet to approve its response to the Scrutiny recommendations originally presented in the Stage 1 report to the Cabinet meeting held on the 24 September 2025. This response includes: - Action plans for the implementation of agreed recommendations, or; Indicating where a recommendation is already in progress, or; Reasons for rejecting the recommendations. Following approval by Cabinet, the response to the scrutiny recommendations will be reported back to the next meeting of either the Scrutiny and Overview Committee or the relevant Sub-Committees. The Constitution requires that in accepting a recommendation, with or without amendment, from a Scrutiny and Overview Committee or Sub-Committee, Cabinet shall agree an action plan for the implementation of the agreed recommendations and shall delegate responsibility to an identified officer to report back to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee or Sub-Committee, within a specified period, on the progress made in implementing the action plan. Scrutiny’s recommendations highlight potential opportunities for reinforcing performance management, strengthening governance, and increasing transparency for residents. They are presented for consideration, focusing on options that may improve oversight of performance, and service delivery. Should these recommendations be taken forward, they could help deliver the priorities in the Mayor’s Business Plan—embedding good governance (Outcome 1, Priorities 1 & 4), ensuring that Croydon is a cleaner, safer and healthier (Outcome 4, Priorities 3 & 5), and that children and young people in Croydon have the chance to thrive, learn and fulfil their potential (Outcome 3, Priority 3).
Recommendations Approved
Update on Regina Road (Part A)
From: Cabinet - Wednesday, 19th November, 2025 6.30 pm - November 19, 2025
The last Regina Road project update report to Cabinet was provided on 15 July 2024. This November 2025 update report is provided to inform of latest progress and key considerations. In 2021 Regina Road gained national attention following an ITV news report revealing serious concerns about the living conditions on the estate. Reports informed that conditions were unacceptable, highlighting major health and safety concerns including severe damp and mould. The issues were noted to have arisen owing to a range of factors including failure to resolve key maintenance issues, failings in the response to the worsening conditions highlighted by residents, and the estate suffering from a lack of investment over many years. It was deemed that there was a need for urgent intervention to address the issues and provide safe, high quality homes. The Council subsequently committed to take action to address past failures and ensure that this is done in consultation with residents. The Residents’ Charter was produced and approved at Cabinet on 16 November 2022, providing a framework for the consultation. In 2023, 88.1% of eligible residents voted in favour of demolishing and rebuilding the estate through a formal ballot. The proposed redevelopment is one of the biggest regeneration projects in Croydon in recent years and reflects the Council’s commitment to building high quality new council homes. The redevelopment process is advancing swiftly, and several major milestones have recently been achieved. Key areas of progression on the project since the last Cabinet update include commencement of demolition of the first tower block, obtaining unanimous approval from Planning Committee for the planning application to redevelop the estate, and a successful major procurement process to identify the main build contractor for Phase 1 in anticipation of starting new build works in spring 2026. The detail of these major project milestones and associated activities are outlined in the report. The Regina Road redevelopment contributes to the Executive Mayor’s Priority 4 by demonstrating significant investment into new Council housing stock and providing safe, well-designed new homes that are in keeping with the local area.
Recommendations Approved
SCRUTINY STAGE 1: RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM SCRUTINY
From: Cabinet - Wednesday, 19th November, 2025 6.30 pm - November 19, 2025
This report sets out recommendations from Scrutiny for the consideration of Cabinet. These recommendations originate from the meetings of the Streets & Environment Sub-Committee on 16 September 2025, and the Scrutiny & Overview Committee on 23 September 2025. Scrutiny’s recommendations highlight potential opportunities for the Council to enhance monitoring and evaluation of delivered work, and to find more equitable funding solutions. Should these recommendations be taken forward, they could help deliver on the priorities in the Executive Mayor’s Business Plan, including balancing the Council’s 2. books, delivering sustainable services, and promoting good governance (Outcome 1, Priorities 1 and 4).
Recommendations Approved
Summary
Meetings Attended: 44
Average per Month: 2.2
Decisions Recorded: 107