Agenda item

ANNUAL WHISTLEBLOWING POLICY REVIEW

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – LEGAL AND COMMUNITY/ MONITORING OFFICER.

The report deals with the review of the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy and any concerns raised.

Decision:

RESOLVED: That the Committee

(1) Considered and noted the Annual Report, together with the actions proposed post benchmarking.

(2) Approved the Whistleblowing Policy, Appendix 1, in relation to anonymous allegations, as amended, as follows:

Page 30 of agenda item:

“Concerns expressed anonymously ~~are much less powerful but~~ will be considered at the discretion of the Monitoring Officer.”

“In exercising this discretion the factors to be taken into account would include:

· the seriousness of the issues raised;

· the credibility of the concern;

· the likelihood of confirming the allegation from other sources and;

· the reasoning behind wanting to remain anonymous.

Please remember that if you do not tell us who you are (and are therefore raising a concern anonymously) it will may be difficult for us to look into the matter…”

(3) Requested that the Whistleblowing Policy be included within the Code of Conduct training, which was mandatory for Members to complete.

REASONS FOR DECSION:

(1) Good practice indicates that the Whistleblowing Policy should be reviewed annually. It affords the opportunity to comment on and improve arrangements at the Council.

(2) To ensure Members are aware of the Whistleblowing Policy and their role within the Policy.

(3) To use wording that encourages Council employees to use the Whistleblowing Policy as often as required.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – 27 minutes 5 seconds

The Monitoring Officer presented the report entitled ‘Annual Whistleblowing Policy Review’ and advised that:

· The policy was brought to the attention Member of this Committee due to their increased remit.

· In accordance with best practice the policy is reviewed annually.

· The policy was based on the guidance of the charity Protect and was adjusted to fulfil the specific needs of the Council.

· The majority of changes for this year were minor administrative changes.

· A benchmarking assessment carried out with Protect highlighted a need for an amendment advising staff they could go to outsider organisations.

· Engagement was highlighted as an issue, currently this was encouraged by an annual notice in Insight and posters on each floor of the Council offices.

· Further action was required to improve engagement. This would include whistleblowing training and named champions within the Council.

· Last year there was no incidents of whistleblowing and the previous year there was one incident.

The following Members asked questions:

· Councillor Emma Rowe

· Councillor Ian Albert

· Councillor Val Bryant

· Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham

· Councillor Sean Prendergast

· Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

· Councillor Tom Tyson

· Councillor Alistair Wiloughby

In response to questions, the Monitoring Officer advised that:

· The engagement rating related to how well the Whistleblowing Policy was being communicated to staff.

· The Council would be taking the engagement rating onboard and aimed to form a Whistleblowing team. Then the policy could be updated between now and the annual review if necessary.

· The Whistleblowing Policy was not part of the induction of new staff, but all staff sign off annually that they are aware of the Policy. the Monitoring Officer would consult further with HR on this matter.

· The wording of the page 30, relating to anonymous reports could be altered if Members wished; however, it was not always possible to keep cases of whistleblowing anonymous and if parties were unaware of the person raising the concern, they would not attract the protection under legislation.

· A generic anonymous whistleblowing form could be something the Council implements in the future.

· The information given during a report would be kept confidential unless permission was given or an incident needed to be reported to the police.

In response to questions, the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager advised that Whistleblowing was not currently part of the Member Induction pack, but this could be added.

In response to questions, the Independent Person noted that a balance should be stuck between anonymity and protecting those being complained about, and there were sometimes legitimate grounds to remain anonymous.

Councillor Ruth Brown proposed, and Councillor Keith Hoskins seconded the motion.

The following Members took part in the debate:

· Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

· Councillor Ruth Brown

· Councillor Emma Rowe

· Councillor Val Bryant

· Councillor Sean Prendergast

Points raised in the debate included that:

· Whistleblowing should be part of the mandatory training for Members.

· Councillors believe that an anonymous report form, would help staff feel more secure reporting concerns.

· Softening the wording in paragraph 3 would help but also anonymity could be achieved by a new form.

As part of the debate, Councillor Elizabeth Dennis proposed that that the Whistleblowing Policy be included within the Code of Conduct training, which was mandatory for Members to complete, this was accepted by the proposer and seconder of the motion.

Having been proposed and seconded and, following a vote, the substantive motion was: