‘More measures needed to tackle bullying at East Riding Council’

The chair of an East Riding Council committee told a meeting examining bullying claims levelled at the authority she received no support from officials ahead of a court case.
Council leader Jonathan Owen said there had not been a flood of bullying complaints since allegations were first made in a draft report.Council leader Jonathan Owen said there had not been a flood of bullying complaints since allegations were first made in a draft report.
Council leader Jonathan Owen said there had not been a flood of bullying complaints since allegations were first made in a draft report.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Overview, Management and Scrutiny Committee Chair Cllr Lyn Healing said the only support she received after receiving malicious emails was from other councillors.

She added no one from senior management had asked how she was feeling ahead of her going to Scarborough Magistrates Court today (Friday, March 25).

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It comes as council leader Cllr Jonathan Owen told the same meeting there had not been a flood of bullying complaints since allegations were first made in a draft report.

The committee heard the final version of the Local Government Association (LGA) report no longer included explicit references to bullying after the council asked for evidence which was not forthcoming.

The final version of the report, based on a visit from other council officials late last year, still contains references to unusually controlling behaviour from senior council offices.

The final version of the LGA Peer Challenge report is set to be made public ahead of it going before the council’s cabinet in April.

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The case in Scarborough Magistrates Court concerns emails sent to councillors following the killing of Sir David Amess in October which included death threats.

Councillors speaking during the meeting said that although bullying may not be widespread or part of the council’s culture, more measures were needed to tackle it.

Members including councillors Ros Jump, Richard Meredith and Andy Walker all floated creating an independent post which could investigate bullying.

Cllr Jump said some staff may not feel they could use council channels to report bullying if they felt the person handling it was complicit or supported the culprit.

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Ms Lacey told the committee staff already had a number of avenues they could go down, including non-council ones such as through trade unions.

Cllr Kevin Beaumont said not only council staff but councillors themselves were subject to bullying, including from people outside the organisation.

Cllr Beaumont added he felt members were left on their own without support when subject to it and said the East Riding should have a duty of care towards them.

Separately, Cllr Leo Hammond called for more to be done on strengthening the council’s position as a local leader, a point raised in the LGA report.

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Cllr Owen said in response that he was becoming more involved in bodies including the Humber Leadership Forum, made up of the elected heads of the region’s local authorities.

But he added those conclusions reached in the report could be based on parties who were interviewed who felt excluded during ongoing devolution talks between the East Riding and Hull.

Cllr Owen said the authority had been overdue an independent visit so he was keen to invite the LGA’s six-strong team in to be a critical friend of the council.

The council has drawn up a draft action plan setting out how it plans to act on the LGA’s recommendations.

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It includes plans to develop a clearer vision for the East Riding, strengthen roles and responsibilities, increase transparency including around financial planning and strengthening relationships with partners.

Cllr Owen said: “There wasn’t a lot of surprises in the LGA’s findings, but one of those surprises was claims about bullying.

“We expected that if bullying was really an issue we’d have had a flood of people coming forward but that hasn’t happened.

“So it’s not something I want to over-emphasise.”

Cllr Healing said the council needed to show to people in the area it had a grip on the situation.

The chair said: “It doesn’t matter if it’s just one person being bullied or 10 people.”

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