Audit Wales asks “Are you concerned about malpractice in Merthyr Council?”

If you are concerned, the attached leaflet has been designed by Audit Wales as a tool to help you take the next steps.

It may be particularly relevant if you work for Merthyr Council .

Extracts from leaflet

Whistleblowing disclosures

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (the Act) was introduced to protect employees who are worried about wrongdoing in the workplace and want to ‘blow the whistle’.

The Act applies to most employees and includes those employed on a temporary basis or through an agency.

An employee who is subjected to detriment in any way because they have ‘blown the whistle’ can take their employer to an Employment Tribunal.

Role of the Auditor General for Wales

Under the Act, the Auditor General for Wales (the Auditor General) is a ‘prescribed person’ for concerns about ‘the proper conduct of public business; value for money, fraud and corruption in relation to the provision of public services’.

You can email the Audit Office  on whistleblowing@audit.wales

What happened when an employee of Merthyr Council contacted Audit Wales to investigate his concerns?

As a result of the concerns raised by the Council’s employee, Audit Wales published a report on The Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements related to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council.

The Report was issued on 1st August 2019.

The following post is a very detailed analysis of my investigation into the journey of the Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements related to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council from its initial conception from the Audit Wales Office through to how it was (NOT) dealt with by the Council

To summarise:

The Audit Report was incomplete and contradictory.

It was suppressed by the Monitoring Officer of the Council.

It has never been presented to any Council Committees or the Full Council for consideration and discussion.

There has never been an independent investigation of the wrongdoings of the Council’s Senior Officers and the Cover-up of the Council’s Child Protection Safeguarding Failures that eventually led to the scapegoating and unfair dismissal of a Senior HR Officer.

Updated – My investigation into the Journey of the WAO Report on the Review of Whistleblowing Arrangements relating to Safeguarding at Merthyr Council (aka THE REPORT)

The Audit Wales Leaflet