Issue - meetings

Resolved: 

a) To commission the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Council Leader, and where relevant, the Monitoring Officer, to proceed with the further investigations and reviews noted in part 4 of this report following the publication of the Our Bravery Brought Justice report, including:

(a) Agreement on the terms of reference and operational steps

(b) Identify and appoint an external independent investigator where required

(c) Arrange for the receipt of final reports and take steps to submit them to the relevant committees and forums

b) To authorise the Chief Executive to continue to communicate with other relevant bodies and partners about what action and investigations they are undertaking and the lessons learnt that may benefit the Council

c) To authorise the Chief Executive to divert staff resources to support independent investigators to complete the work

ch) To authorise the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Head of Finance and Cabinet Member for Finance, to prioritise and approve allocations from the fund established through the 2026-27 One-off Bids system to fund the investigations.

The report was submitted by Cllr Nia Jeffreys.

DECISION

Resolved: 

a) To commission the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Council Leader, and where relevant, the Monitoring Officer, to proceed with the further investigations and reviews noted in part 4 of this report following the publication of the Our Bravery Brought Justice report, including:

(a) Agreement on the terms of reference and operational steps

(b) Identify and appoint an external independent investigator where required

(c) Arrange for the receipt of final reports and take steps to submit them to the relevant committees and forums

b) To authorise the Chief Executive to continue to communicate with other relevant bodies and partners about what action and investigations they are undertaking and the lessons learnt that may benefit the Council

c) To authorise the Chief Executive to divert staff resources to support independent investigators to complete the work

ch) To authorise the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Head of Finance and Cabinet Member for Finance, to prioritise and approve allocations from the fund established through the 2026-27 One-Off Bids regime to fund the investigations.

DISCUSSION

It was highlighted that the Council fully accepted the Our Bravery Brought Justice Report, and that it intended to act on all recommendations in the Report. The victims were thanked for their courage and apologies were made for the Council's failures. It was emphasised that the victims were at the forefront of everyone's minds when discussing this topic.

It was noted that the purpose of commissioning this work was to add to the messages of the Our Bravery Brought Justice Report, and to examine some topics in more detail. It was explained that several considerations had been made here such as impact on the victims, the lessons learnt, and what the Council could achieve.

Reference was made to the number of investigations listed that were already underway or had been completed. It was confirmed that these investigations had identified lessons to be learnt. The need to properly understand everything that had happened to be able to improve was highlighted, and the importance that the Council finished carrying out all investigations that were within its power.

It was stated that the review into the Council's governance arrangements considered the missed opportunities, the recommendations set out in the Our Bravery Brought Justice report, and established whether there were governance lessons to be learnt.

The culture review was then discussed, noting that it would involve pulling together work culture matters through multiple sources. It was added that this would draw on several pieces of information that the Council already had. It was intended to complete this work in two parts, and the importance of receiving input from current Elected Members and those elected in the 2027 local elections, staff and other stakeholders was emphasised.

By referring to the Efficiency of the School Governance Procedure, it was highlighted that the current arrangement in terms of the division of statutory responsibilities was not always clear. It was mentioned that the Council had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8