Bristol Council SEND 'spying' scandal sees no date set for probe

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

A start date has yet to be set for an inquiry into allegations Bristol City Council staff "spied" on the parents of disabled children via social media.

Last year, leaked emails showed council officers had monitored the accounts for posts critical of the authority.

An internal report found there was "no systematic monitoring", but was branded a whitewash by the parents affected.

Councillors voted for an independent investigation into the scandal in October, but it has yet to begin.

'Ofsted inspection'

At a full council meeting on Tuesday, Labour councillor Asher Craig, cabinet member for education, said nothing will happen until Ofsted inspectors complete a separate ongoing inspection.

Ofsted is currently inspecting the council's children services department, which works in areas like children's care homes and fostering.

She promised a new update on the inquiry into alleged spying early next month.

Ms Craig said: "The mayor had already agreed that he would consider an external investigation on the social media monitoring.

"However, we have decided to take no further action until we have seen the outcome of our Ofsted inspection (into children's services)."

She added that an Ofsted inspection into provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has shown "significant progress".

'Leaked emails'

The allegations concerning social media monitoring surfaced in July last year.

The leaked emails showed information was gathered on parents who were members of the Bristol Parents Carers Forum (BPCF) - a group that works with the authority to improve SEND provision.

Staff collected a dossier of critical social media posts, cross-referencing anonymous Twitter accounts with private Facebook wedding photos.

The internal report published in September found that no "unlawful activity" had been uncovered, but opposition councillors are still demanding an independent inquiry.

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