Agenda item

Scott Fawcus, Monitoring Officer presented his annual report on matters relating to ethical governance, including details of complaint handling activity in relation to allegations of Member misconduct, details of disclosures made under the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy during the last 12 months, and any reports made under the Money Laundering Policy.

It was reported that the number of complaints relating to both Borough Councillors and Town and Parish Councillors remained proportionately low which evidenced that were very good standards of behaviour. No reports have been made to the Money Laundering Officer in relation to Anti-Money Laundering returns for 2022/23. During the last year, only two whistleblowing returns have been reported.

The Chair in welcoming the reduction in the number of complaints asked how Doncaster compared to that of other neighbouring authorities and whether there were national statistics available regarding Member complaints. The Monitoring Officer advised that Doncaster compared favourably to that of other authorities and complaints against Members and the number of breaches remained low which demonstrated good standards of behaviour for both Borough Councillors and Town and Parish Councillors. Complaints nationally generally related to when there were changes to the political make up of an authority. Complaints received by the Monitoring Officer in Doncaster mainly related to systemic complaints about changes in Council policy, or Members who had a difference of opinion in the actions of other Councillors, or were unhappy with how a Councillor was dealing with an issue in their ward. The complaints had not given rise to breaches of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

In response to a question from the Chair regarding the detection of potential money laundering activities of the Council, Members were informed that as the world was operating in a less cashless society, money laundering was much easier to detect. The Committee was reassured that the Council have robust arrangements in place to prevent money laundering which complied with legislative requirements. Council staff received training in relation to the detection of money laundering. The Council’s Financial Procedure Rules set out the Council’s internal framework for the financial administration of the Council’s financial affairs, including the handling of cash and that the Council will not accept cash income for the purchase of goods with a value greater than approx. £11,000.  It was reported that the Council was to limit the use of cash across the Council and where possible, the method of cash paid for Council services going forward were to be paid electronically. However, the Council would retain the facility for customers to be given the option to pay in cash.  It was recognised that there were some areas in the Council that payment could not be made digitally in respect of the use of petty cash in Care Homes.

Responding to a question, the Monitoring Officer confirmed that staff were periodically reminded about the process for raising an issue under the Whistleblowing Policy and that he was shortly to post a reminder on the staff Homepage of the Intranet. He indicated that he was also to speak to Doncaster College reminding them of the process and the requirements and principles of the policy. The Monitoring Officer provided assurance that the Council were committed to maintaining standards of openness and transparency, and that staff were encouraged to report concerns through the Policy and other channels available to them. He cited examples of recent complaints, which clearly evidenced that there was an awareness by staff of the existence of the policy.  He added that complaints raised under the policy were dependent upon what changes were taking place at the Council, in particular controversial changes. He reiterated that as consistent with previous years, the number of complaints were low.

The Vice-Chair asked whether the Council would inform those partners and organisations who worked closely with Council staff the outcome of any whistleblowing referrals and investigations that were to be found problematic within a service area and if these would be publicised. The Monitoring Officer advised that the Whistleblowing policy adopted by the Council was wider than the law required. The Council were duty bound to make available the Policy to Council employees and the Policy was accessible to partners and service users. The Monitoring Officer gave an undertaking to explore ways in which to communicate to partners and service users in terms of good practice and the requirements of having arrangements in place under the policy. The Monitoring Officer in responding to a further question from the Vice-Chair confirmed that details of the contact number for staff to be able to report concerns or malpractice within the Council was not displayed in staff break out areas, however, the contact details were available on the Council’s Intranet.

RESOLVED that

(1)    the Monitoring Officer’s Annual report on complaint handling activity for the period 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023, be noted;

(2)     the whistleblowing return for 2022/23, be noted; and

(3)     the nil money laundering reports for 2022/23, be noted.