A report to update the Committee on Internal Audit finds on the operation of the Whistleblowing Policy.

The Head of Legal Services (HLS) introduced the report on the Internal Audit finds on the operation of the Whistleblowing Policy. It was highlighted there were 4 findings recorded and mitigated during the audit (recorded at paragraph 6 of the report).

In response to committee questions it was noted:

1.     The Assistant Director for South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) opinion was that he would rather see a significant number of complaints than no complaints at all.

2.     The HLS explained the point of collecting and reporting the data was so common trends could be identified and recurring problems could be reported back to the committee and the Monitoring Officer. It was noted in the committee’s yearly report it will consist of “data categorised by the type of complaint”.

3.     The HLS confirmed that the process did not involve data sharing across other councils, but for example in relation to a professional officer there would be a record from reporting to the police or professional body.

4.     The HLS explained if a vexatious complaint was received and it was not a whistleblowing complaint it would be investigated by the Line manager. Complaints are kept anonymous and secure, once resolved the data would be deleted after 12 months with only a record of the trends having been kept for data purposes.

5.     The HLS confirmed that there was not a clear timeframe for dealing with complaints as it would depend on the nature of the complaint, the number of people involved etc. but the committee could be assured that legal services do monitor the service areas, chase for updates and escalate straight away if there was no action. It was highlighted that the service areas did take complaints seriously and prioritised them.

Resolved:

That the findings of the Internal Audit; and the changes in the operation and reporting underpinning the Whistleblowing Policy were noted.