Katherine Kerswell has resigned as Chief Executive of Croydon Council after five years in the role. The council confirmed she will receive no payments beyond her contractual notice period.
Her departure comes during an ongoing period of financial instability at the authority. During Kerswell’s tenure, the council issued two Section 114 notices – formal declarations that it could no longer balance its budget – and has remained under government oversight.
In July, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities appointed commissioners to take over certain functions of the council, including financial management and oversight of senior staffing. This followed a period under an Improvement and Assurance Panel, which had been monitoring progress since the council’s first Section 114 notice in 2020.
Ms Kerswell was appointed as Croydon Council’s permanent Chief Executive in May 2021, after serving in the role on an interim basis following the resignation of her predecessor, Jo Negrini, in August 2020.
Executive Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, thanked Ms Kerswell for her service, stating: “Katherine is leaving Croydon Council after serving as Chief Executive for five years. Having joined Croydon at an incredibly challenging time, she has led our workforce through a period of unprecedented and rapid change and improvement.”
He highlighted several developments during her time in post, including the council gaining a Good Ofsted rating for its children’s services, a positive Care Quality Commission report, and the lifting of a voluntary undertaking by the Social Housing Regulator. “Katherine has worked tirelessly to support the improvements that residents expect and deserve,” he added.
The resignation also comes in the same week that external auditors Grant Thornton issued a statutory recommendation to the council, a formal warning requiring urgent action. The report stated that Croydon’s financial position remains “unsustainable”, with arrangements to achieve financial sustainability having “deteriorated”.
The amount borrowed from central government to support council finances rose sharply over the past year, from £51 million to £136 million. Auditors said that without a long-term solution to historic debt and structural overspending, the council may not be able to deliver required savings or maintain key services.
Some improvements were also noted, including better management of the pension fund, progress in housing services, and work to improve complaints handling. The council has accepted all of the auditors’ recommendations and will discuss at next week’s full council meeting (September 22).
Mayor Perry responded to the report by saying: “Grant Thornton’s report is absolutely right to highlight the elephant in the room, Croydon’s historic debt. The government and the council need to work together on a long-term solution.”
Croydon Council said it is making arrangements to cover the Chief Executive role and will confirm further details in due course. In the meantime, a senior leadership team, including the Deputy Chief Executive, remains in place.
