Edinburgh council lacks 'safe culture' for whistleblowers

Edinburgh council lacks a "safe and supportive" culture to deal with whistleblowers, according to an independent review.

A 150-page report by Susanne Tanner QC contains 50 recommendations for improvement.

City of Edinburgh Council leader Adam McVey said his grateful for the "strong and thorough" recommendations.

A separate report recently found an "old boys network" protected a social worker who was a serial abuser.

Ms Tanner considered ten questions in her report, the first of which related to the whistleblowing culture.

• Senior Edinburgh social worker was serial abuser, report finds

She said: "My overall conclusion is that despite considerable steps taken to improve organisational culture since 2014, there is not a universally positive, open, safe and supportive whistleblowing and organisational culture for the raising of and responding to concerns of wrongdoing"

Ms Tanner said that while the council was moving in the right direction "there is a need to demonstrate transformational changes".

She added that her recommendations should assist with that.

The report, which will be discussed by councillors on Thursday, rejects a suggestion that the council ignores concerns about wrongdoing to protect its reputation.

Officials at Edinburgh council were criticised in October for failing to act on formal allegations about Sean Bell's conduct

Council chief executive Andrew Kerr thanked those who took part in the review, which was commissioned in October last year.

He said: "I know that, for some, this will have been extremely challenging, based on what they have been through, and I want to pay tribute to their courage in coming forward."

Council leader Adam McVey added: "The report highlights the significant progress and improvements made to the council's whistleblowing culture in recent years and this should give all of us encouragement that further improvement can be achieved."

He described the recommendations as "robust and constructive" and said he is confident they will be adopted.

If endorsed by next week, Ms Tanner's findings will form the basis of an action plan for consideration by councillors in February.

'Hell bent'

In October, a separate report by Ms Tanner found Edinburgh council contributed to the protection of a social worker at the centre of abuse allegations over three decades.

Sean Bell, 58, was facing criminal charges when he was found dead in 2020.

The subsequent report described him as a serial abuser whose behaviour had gone unchecked over an extended period.

Last week, a whistleblower claimed council bosses were "hell-bent" on protecting Bell.

City of Edinburgh Council has said it would ensure it could never happen again.