Investigation into comments by Warwickshire councillors on special educational needs finds no breach in code of conduct
An investigation into comments made by three Warwickshire councillors about children with special educational needs during a council meeting has concluded there was no breach of the code of conduct.
The independent investigation was launched in response to complaints made about the nature of the remarks made by the three councillors.
At a meeting of the council’s Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 25 January 2024, Cllr Brian Hammersley asked: “Why are there so many people now jumping out with these needs? Where were they in the past when I was at school?”
Cllr Jeff Morgan questioned whether some children put forward for assessments were "just really badly behaved" and in need of "some form of strict correction", and Cllr Clare Golby referred to social media pages where "families are swapping tips on how to get their children diagnosed".
All three councillors apologised personally for their comments, with Cllr Hammersley acknowledging his “clumsiness and lack of care in choosing [his] words”.
The investigation, which concluded last week (13 June), found there was “no breach of the code of conduct” in respect of each of the three councillors.
In the decision notice relating to Cllr Brian Hammersley, the investigating officer found that whilst certain words/ phrases used by the councillor were “disrespectful and showed a lack of care and sensitivity” and have caused “reputational damage to the Councillor and the Council”, the comments made during the debate did not constitute a breach of the Councillor Code of Conduct.
In the decision notice relating to Cllr Jeff Morgan, the investigating officer found that whilst certain words/ phrases used by the councillor were “disrespectful, not courteous, and showed a lack of care and sensitivity”, the comments again did not constitute a breach of the Code of Conduct.
In both cases the finding of no breach was “by virtue of the enhanced protections afforded by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to freedom of speech) during political debate”.
In the decision notices for Cllrs Hammersley and Morgan, the Monitoring Officer recommended, however, that Warwickshire’s Chief Executive consider “ways in which councillors can be supported to engage fully in debate at scrutiny and other committee meetings whilst ensuring that the language used is respectful, courteous, and sensitive to the matter concerned”.
In the decision notice relating to Cllr Golby, the investigation found there was “insufficient evidence” to justify a finding of breach of Standard 3c: (I will not bully, harass, or unlawfully discriminate against anyone) and “no evidence that Councillor Golby acted in the way she did because of any protected characteristics”.
The investigator concluded that the enhanced protections of Article 10 would have been afforded to Cllr Golby had the findings been different.
A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council said: “This has been a difficult and lengthy process, and we would like to thank everyone who contributed to the investigation. We want to reassure residents that a thorough investigation has been undertaken and the views of all complainants were considered as part of that process.
“We continue to work hard to build on the relationship we have with Warwickshire families, and we remain committed to working in partnership to improve outcomes for children, young people and their families in Warwickshire.”
Lottie Winson
