Bristol City Council probe requested over social media checks

Parents of children with disabilities saw their social media accounts monitored by the council

A group of councillors have demanded an external investigation after it was revealed council staff monitored parents on social media.

Leaked documents showed Bristol City Council staff watched some social media posts of parents critical about special educational needs and disability provision (SEND).

A council spokesman claimed the monitoring was requested by the charity Bristol Parent Carer Forum (BPCF).

The forum has denied this.

In a letter addressed to the overview and scrutiny management board, lead members of the council's people scrutiny committee said they were "very concerned" about claims the council were monitoring SEND parents.

"We feel that issue, given its damage to reputation and trust, does warrant an investigation by an external auditor," it said.

The letter was signed by seven councillors, including Tim Kent and Christine Townsend, chair and vice chair of the scrutiny committee.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the council said BPCF asked them to collect data, as part of an investigation into the conduct of some of its members.

A spokesman for BPFC said: "We would like to clarify the parent/carer forum has not asked Bristol City Council to collect data about parents and carers of children and young people with SEND."

The surveillance appears to stem from a row last autumn, where some forum members were "campaigning" online.

A Bristol City Council spokesman said they received an email from BPCF on 7 October, 2021.

He said: "It requested Bristol City Council supply evidence, in order to substantiate concerns that members of the forum were carrying out online campaigning and lobbying activities.

"This seemed in conflict with them representing the forum at strategic meetings as part of the SEND improvement partnership."

The leaked documents showed council staff "working hard to uncover concrete evidence", which appeared to include trawling through the social media accounts of parents to find and collate posts critical of the council.

'Shocked and saddened'

However, the council spokesman added: "BCC accessed BCC-administrated and publicly available social media pages in order to supply the relevant information to the BPCF as requested."

The BPCF is led by volunteers, to help "bridge the gap" between the NHS and local councils for SEND families.

A forum spokesman added: "Our objective is for all services to work together effectively, to ensure families in Bristol get the support they need."

It has now emerged council chiefs are no longer supporting government funding for the local charity, but say the decision is not related to the social media monitoring row and the decision was made last month.

In a letter sent on 21 July, cabinet member for education, Cllr Asher Craig, said the council was asking the Department for Education to keep hold of the grant this year, so new models of parent participation could be explored.

The Department for Education (DfE) grants up to £17,500 annually for a parent/carer forum in each council area.

But now the council has pulled its support from the forum, that money could go elsewhere next year.

Bristol SEND Community Alliance said they were "shocked" and "saddened" by recent allegations that the council monitored SEND parents.

"We hope a full investigation is forthcoming so we can continue to have a transparent and constructive dialogue, to ensure the interests of children and young people with SEND in Bristol are always at the heart of Bristol City Council's actions and decision-making," a spokesman said.