Agenda item

Rolling Review of the Confidential Whistleblowing Procedure

RESOLVED:

That the recommended amendments to the Procedure, as agreed by the Committee during the meeting, be approved and the Procedure be amended and submitted to the Governance and Audit Committee for further consideration.

The Monitoring Officer presented a report on the Confidential Whistleblowing Procedure.  He provided background information and advised that the report was part of the Committee’s regular review of policies to ensure they remained up to date and pertinent. 

The Monitoring Officer drew attention to section 1.03 of the report which explained the proposal to remove the ability to make anonymous complaints from the Procedure.  He explained there were also a number of minor changes to be made to the Procedure which were marked as tracked changes in Appendix 1 to the report.  The Monitoring Officer advised that any further changes made by the Committee would be submitted to the Governance and Audit Committee prior to reporting to the Constitution and Democratic Services Committee and then to County Council for adoption.   When agreed the Procedure would be circulated to Chief Officers and cascaded throughout the Council.

Gill Murgatroyd referred to the appendix to the report, Page 23, Section 5 - Scope of the Policy, paragraphs 5.2 and 5.5, and sought clarification around use of the term ‘definition’.  The Monitoring Officer agreed to move the wording in paragraphs 5.2 and 5.5 into Section 4 – Definitions.  Following a further query it was agreed that a comma would be inserted into paragraph 5.2 following the word ‘employed’.

Gill Murgatroyd also referred to page 27, Section 12 – Legal Protection, paragraphs 12.2, 12.3, and 12.4, and cross-referenced to the other categories of workers which were defined in paragraph 5.2.   She also drew attention to page 28, Section 13, paragraph 31.1 and suggested for consistency that the ‘Role of the Employee’ be changed to read ‘Role of the Worker’.  In a final point raised by Gill Murgatroyd it was agreed that paragraph 11.3 (page 27) be moved to Section 4 – Definitions.

Ian Papworth expressed concerns around the proposal to remove the ability to make anonymous complaints from the Procedure and suggested that it be amened to read “allegations may only be noted initially if they lack credibility or collaboration from a second source”.

The Chair commented on the need to give reassurance and confidence to  complainants who did not want to be identified that their details would be treated and kept as highly confidential and said that the wording in the Procedure should be robust to reflect this.

In response to a query raised by Ian Papworth on paragraph 5.3 (page 23), the Monitoring Officer agreed to amend the wording to include reporting directly and to cross reference to the section which addressed direct referral in the Policy.  Ian Papworth also referred to paragraph 4.6 (page 23) and suggested that it be amended to remove the wording “this should be raised initially with your line manager and if the issue is not resolved by your line manager”.  The Monitoring Officer provided explanation and agreed to review the current wording in the paragraph to provide clarification. 

Councillor Andrew Parkhurst raised questions round the number of complaints made which were anonymous or not and expressed concerns around the proposal to prohibit the ability to make anonymous complaints.  He commented on best practice and the duty that Members and employees had to report matters of concern and referred to paragraphs 13.1, 13.2 and 13.3 (page 28) of the Policy.  The Monitoring Officer responded to the comments and concerns expressed by Councillor Parkhurst and advised that other County Councils tried to dissuade anonymous allegations and quoted the wording used by Gwynedd County Council as an example.  The Monitoring Officer advised that the Procedure currently stated that “at its discretion the County Council might decline to investigate”.

Councillor Parkhurst asked that the reference to Audit Committee at the top of page 29 be changed to Governance and Audit Committee and also suggested the addition of wording to identify any themes, trends, and remedial actions, in the process.  He also referred to page 30, the bullet point on fraud and corruption, and suggested that the word “bribery” be inserted.

Gill Murgatroyd pointed out that the reference to Audit Committee on page 28, paragraph 13.4 also needed to be amended to read Governance and Audit Committee.

Mark Morgan raised a typographical error in paragraph .7.1 (page 28) and also suggested that the last sentence in paragraph 7.2 be amended to read as follows: “Anonymous allegations will be considered in a proportionate manner at the discretion of the Council”.  Following advice and the further suggestions for re-wording of paragraph 7.2 which were put forward by the Monitoring Officer, it was agreed that the Monitoring Officer would look at amending paragraph 7.2 in view of the points and comments expressed by the Committee.

The Chair referred to page 31 and asked for reassurance that the contact details would be kept up to date.  It was agreed that the online reporting tool would be added to the contact page to assist access and share information.  The Chair also referred to the flow chart on page 33 and asked if a flow chart was required for anonymous complaint procedures.

The Chair proposed that the recommended changes to the Procedure, as agreed by the Committee during the meeting, be approved so it could be amended and submitted to the Governance and Audit Committee for further consideration.  The proposal was moved by Councillor Andrew Parkhurst and seconded by Mark Morgan and when put to the vote was agreed.

RESOLVED:

That the recommended amendments to the Procedure, as agreed by the Committee during the meeting, be approved and the Procedure be amended and submitted to the Governance and Audit Committee for further consideration.