Whistle-blowers who helped to expose serious misconduct at the heart of Edinburgh City Council have called for a public inquiry into the organisation's workplace culture – saying an independent review 'hasn't touched the surface' and perpetrators 'haven't been held to account'.
They also said some have been "silenced" by non-disclosure agreements which have been used used as a "sinister tool used to suppress the truth coming out".
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The revelations came as councillors were discussing on the way forward towards implementing recommendations made by independent QC Susanne Tanner.
Ms Tanner's inquiry into ex-council employee Sean Bell exposed the senior social worker as a prolific abuser who was protected by an "old boys network" for three decades prior to his death in 2020.
The shocking findings sparked a subsequent review into 'Whistleblowing and Organisational Culture' which concluded there is "not a universally positive, open, safe and supportive whistle-blowing and organisational culture for the raising of and responding to concerns of wrongdoing within the City of Edinburgh Council".
In total, Ms Tanner made 50 recommendations for improving workplace culture within the local authority.
A report on the 'next steps' being taken to address the wide-ranging issues highlighted by the investigations includes a budget of £2.5 million a year to make the necessary changes.
The sum will go towards hiring new staff specially trained to deal with serious allegations and other costs associated with taking forward the recommendations.
Furthermore, victims of Sean Bell will be compensated through the fund.
As the report was put to a full council meeting for approval on Thursday (February 10), members were addressed by Christine Scott, a former community programme manager at Castlebrae Community High who came forward with allegations against a headteacher in 2014.
After leaving the organisation three years later, she's now part of a group of group of Edinburgh Council whistle-blowers who she was speaking on behalf of at the meeting.
She said: "We would like to thank those elected members who have supported us as whistle-blowers, in particular Councillor Cameron Rose and Councillor Alison Dickie, who herself has experienced negative treatment as a result.
"We would also like to thank the brave victims in the Sean Bell case who came forward and shared their harrowing accounts of abuse. We welcome the redress scheme the council is setting up for the victims but we would suggest this scheme is extended to all victims in cases of abuse identified."
Ms Scott called the terms of reference of the whistle blowing review "narrow and restrictive in allowing the truth to surface".
She said this "allowed the alleged perpetrators of serious malpractice, cover-up and corruption to remain unaccountable".
"We believe all the facts in these cases were not sought and this resulted in suppressing the truth. We believe the council did not adhere to public interest disclosure legislation whilst investigating the whistle-blowing claims, the whistle-blowers were not protected, they experienced traumatic workplace situations to cope with without support and they feared for their continued employment, their mental and physical health and also their financial health.
"In some cases the victims and whistle-blowers were required to sign non disclosure agreements which we believe is another sinister tool used to suppress the truth coming out."
She added there was "bizarrely" no mention of NDAs in Ms Tanner's follow-up investigation.
Ms Scott reported that when the inquiry was commissioned there was hope amongst herself and fellow whistle-blowers that "the truth would finally be exposed" and "the perpetrators of the alleged serious malpractice and in some cases criminal behaviour would face the consequences".
"Sadly this has not been the case," she said, adding that the group's fears the inquiry would be a "whitewash" have been correct.
Furthermore, she described the decision to not investigate the misuse of public funds by Sean Bell as a "serious misjudgement", saying this would inform the council how the serial abuser "was able to manipulate internal CEC systems over a 20-year period".
She added: "We ask that this aspect is re-opened considering his confirmed behaviours and actions.
"The Tanner two report into the children and families department we feel failed to identify a network operating in the children and families department, despite whistle-blowers identifying some of the same officers operating at the time and being involved in several whistle-blowing cases.
"These senior officers left without blame or consequence for their actions with their pensions securely in tact.
"We're calling for a public inquiry into this because we don't feel that the £1.4 million and the £2.5 million in implementing these recommendations in the report, we don't consider it best value when no one is held to account for alleged serious malpractice and potential criminality."
Councillor Alison Dickie, who has supported whistle-blowers coming forward within the council, thanked Ms Scott for her "utter bravery in being here".
And she asked: "Do you feel that all the evidence you hold as whistle-blowers has been shared and considered to help us in our next steps?"
In response Ms Scott said: "No is the answer because many of us offered our evidence and it was not taken up."
Cllr Dickie also asked if any of the whistle-blowing allegations relate to child abuse, to which Ms Scott replied: "Yes I have serious concerns, some of the whistle-blowers have disclosed to me their incredible, heart-wrenching stories about child protection issues.
"That's why we're calling for a public inquiry, because we don't feel this has touched the surface or even gone below the surface of what's been happening."
