To receive additional items that the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency, in accordance with Section 100B (4) (b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Leader began by stating that one urgent item had been received, which was the Monitoring Officer’s report on whistleblowing allegations. He apologised for the lateness of the report and explained this was because the necessary information had only been received at the end of last week and officers had then had to check it. He described that two whistleblowing allegations had been received, one in January 2018 which related to recruitment and HR matters, and one in August 2018 which had been received by the CEO in September 2018, and related to an in-depth Children’s Services case. The Leader continued by stating that the Monitoring Officer had reviewed and assessed both cases, and then passed on to an independent barrister who was a specialist in child social care and had received unrestricted access to all files relating to the allegations. He continued by mentioning that the files had been locked once the allegations had come to light so information could not be tampered or altered with. He also mentioned that the allegations were reported to Ofsted, who were kept fully appraised of the investigation and were happy with the work completed. He summarised and stated that the independent barrister had found both whistleblowing allegations unsubstantiated.

Councillor Collins commented that he felt pleased and relieved with the outcome that the allegations were unsubstantiated. Councillor Halden then discussed how six weeks ago Councillor Kent had resigned as Chair of Children’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee over this matter, as he had not received the whistleblowing report as fast as he would have liked. Councillor Halden described that he felt the Chair of an O&S Committee had many powers to discuss items such as the whistleblowing allegation, for example going into exempt session or calling an extraordinary meeting. He went onto mention that at the time of Councillor Kent’s resignation the information he requested was not available as the investigation was still ongoing. Councillor Halden felt that this tarnished the council’s reputation as the top Google search was the resignation, and this could harm retention rates of officers, whom he felt worked hard and should be treated professionally. Councillor Halden then called for Councillor Kent to make a formal apology to officers. The Leader replied that he could not comment on the mind-set of other Councillors, but Members were there to do the best they could for the 160,000 residents of Thurrock. He described how Overview & Scrutiny Committees were designed to hold the Executive to account, and he felt resigning should have been a last resort. He felt that as Chair of an O&S Committee, Members have responsibilities and rules to follow, but there were ways of getting messages out. The Leader continued by stating he did not want officers to feel undermined, and they should take comfort in the fact an independent barrister found the whistleblowing allegations to be unsubstantiated. He felt that officers had acted appropriately, and this had been a learning experience. He then drew Members attention to point 4.3 of the report which highlighted areas the council could do better on and how issues could be improved. The Leader stated that the independent barrister had received a wide brief, not just focusing on the specific allegations which had added value to the report. He finished by congratulating the team and outside bodies that worked on the report which he felt was open and clear.

Councillor Hebb echoed the sentiments made by other Councillors, and added that it was the Chair’s role of Overview & Scrutiny Committee’s to shape the Work Programme, and officers were helpful which allowed Members to achieve this. He continued by stating that it was appropriate for an outside barrister to investigate the allegations, and felt officers had made the right choice. He also felt this was an opportunity to reflect and improve in some areas, for example record-keeping as mentioned in point 4.3. Councillor Huelin then discussed the very good council run training sessions for Members in areas such as Overview & Scrutiny, and encouraged Members to go to these if they felt they did not understand enough about O&S procedures. She also reiterated that it was good to see the whistleblowing claims were unsubstantiated.

Councillor Halden felt that although officers should be challenged, it was ultimately the Chair’s responsibility how an O&S committee was run, for example holding exempt sessions or extraordinary meetings. The Leader reminded Members that they could not comment on the mind-set of other Members. Councillor Watkins then stated he was glad to see the claims were unsubstantiated and the investigation had been carried out independently. He felt that it was not just senior officers that had received negative outcomes from Councillor Kent’s resignation, but the day to day working life of less senior officers too. He commented that staff should see that they are appreciated and move on now the claims were proven to be unsubstantiated. The Leader then stated how the discussion was a matter for a public record and agreed the recommendations.

RESOLVED: That Cabinet

1. Noted the report that the whistleblowing allegations received in January and September 2018 have been fully and independently investigated by a specialist children’s safeguarding barrister with the allegations found to be unsubstantiated and note the learning outcomes and recommendations from the process to continue to improve Children’ Services.