Croydon Council is preparing to appoint Elaine Jackson as Interim Chief Executive for a 12-month period, following the resignation of Katherine Kerswell on 16 October 2025. While the specific reasons for Ms. Kerswell's departure are not detailed in the meeting information, the Appointments & Disciplinary Committee convened on Monday 1 December 2025 to discuss the recommendation. The final decision will be made by the Full Council on 10 December 2025.

Ms. Jackson, the current Assistant Chief Executive, has been serving as interim chief since Ms. Kerswell's resignation. According to the committee's report, this appointment aims to provide leadership continuity and stability during a period of significant transformation of Council services. The report interim CE December 2025 - publish further clarifies that Ms. Jackson has been the lead officer for the Council's transformation to date, ensuring continued leadership during this period of significant change. The report also highlights Ms. Jackson's previous experience as Chief Executive of another local authority, an NHS Trust, and in the private sector, although the specific names of these organisations are not provided.

The report interim CE December 2025 - publish considered several alternative options:

  • Acting up the substantive Assistant Chief Executive, at a cost of £52,826 for twelve months.
  • Appointing an interim chief executive at a daily rate of £1,200 to £1,500 per day, costing an estimated £297,000 for the year.
  • Appointing an external candidate on a fixed-term contract for twelve months, at a spot salary of £210,724 per year.
  • Recruiting a permanent Chief Executive.
  • Doing nothing.

Recruiting a permanent Chief Executive immediately was considered, but the report interim CE December 2025 - publish notes that it would take approximately six months to appoint a new Chief Executive, including recruitment and notice periods. This would create a leadership hiatus during the transformation program implementation. Additionally, there was a risk of not being able to appoint a suitable candidate given the competitive London labor market.

The report noted that Executive Mayor Jason Perry, the commissioners appointed by the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and leaders of each political group had been consulted and had indicated their support for the recommendation. The Directions issued to the Council on 17th July 2025 provide for certain functions of the Council to be exercised by the Commissioners, including the function of appointing statutory officers such as the Head of Paid Service. The Council must comply with any instructions of the Commissioners in relation to the exercise of this function.

The report interim CE December 2025 - publish stated that the costs of the appointment would be covered within existing budget provision.