Croydon life is getting “harder” as it continues to recover from bankruptcy, government inspectors have warned.

A report sent to Secretary of State for Local Government Michael Gove, said the council was at a “critical juncture”.

The Improvement and Assurance Panel was set up in February 2021 and reports back to the government on the progress of Croydon Council as it recovers from the bankruptcy it declared in November 2020.

The fourth report by the panel was written in December and published by the government on Monday.

It said in the past year the council has made progress financially.

The report also said the council has stopped making  “poor, opaque, and expensive decisions”,  has accepted that it must “radically reform” and started making changes to its culture and financial planning.

But it warns that a year on from the bankruptcy things are getting harder.

It said: “We have consistently observed that the task of recovery would become harder before it could become easier. One year in, we are at a point where things are indeed becoming harder.

“One unhappy example of this which emerged during the year was the shock that the council received through the exposure of housing maintenance failures in a block of flats in Regina Road which subsequently led to the uncovering of hitherto unknown systemic, critical failures in its housing service.”

A year after awful living conditions at the Croydon tower block were exposed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service has spoken to a handful of residents living in cold damp flats on the estate.

The council said it has been working with tenants to improve housing over the last year to “improve housing services across the board”.

A spokesperson said: “At Regina Road, this includes permanent on-site housing support for residents, rehousing families in urgent need and hundreds of repairs. We know there is a long way to go but are working hard to rebuild trust with the local community.”