This afternoon South Somerset District Council (SSDC) responded to the piece we published yesterday. https://leveller.live/2021/12/13/south-somerset-secrets-exposed/

In that piece we revealed how the council had covered up allegations of corruption. We also looked at how councillors had been misled during the appointment of an interim CEO. Today in direct response to The Leveller® article SSDC released the following statement:

Statement from South Somerset District Council regarding recent investigation into breaches of the Council’s Code of Conduct

Earlier this year, South Somerset District Council was made aware of allegations that two senior members of our team had potentially committed multiple potential breaches of the Council’s Code of Conduct and other SSDC policies.  

These allegations were investigated fully and independently, and we can confirm that the two officers involved are no longer part of the organisation.  

This was a complex and difficult investigation. We thank all those involved for their diligence, and also express our thanks to all colleagues who have participated in the process.

This has been kept confidential to date to ensure that the appropriate evidence was gathered and any disciplinary proceedings resulting from the investigations were fair and legal.  It was always the Council’s intention to inform elected members, staff and the public appropriately at the right time. It would not have been appropriate to comment on this matter publicly during the investigation to respect all of those concerned. 

Our Council has a proud reputation for going above and beyond to support our communities, and it is vital that we follow our Code of Conduct in all the work we do which sets standards of behaviour and conduct that South Somerset District Council expects from all of its employees.  

The investigation has also highlighted a number of actions that we need to undertake to ensure lessons are learned. This will include but will not be limited to reviewing our training offering and the implementation of our financial policies, and these will be implemented as a matter of urgency.  

Please be reassured, as this has demonstrated, we take all allegations of misconduct and gross misconduct very seriously, so that we protect our residents, partners and our staff.  

The statement is interesting. SSDC have kept this whole saga under wraps since 22 April. The final report on the issue was received in September. Today they would like you to believe they were going to tell you all about it. The fact is that they didn’t. By an amazing coincidence they decided to tell the public about it the day after we did. Would this statement ever have appeared if we had not published the truth yesterday?

Despite all the self congratulatory claims in the press release we draw attention to the following:

• Neither of the two officers who have been dismissed have been identified. Despite the fact that by their own admission SSDC have completed all the necessary investigations.
• None of the issues around misleading full council on 5 May have been addressed by this press release.
• Few of the real lessons that have to be learned have been identified in the press release. Training staff may be helpful. Indeed it is always helpful. However, in our opinion the corrupt practices that have been uncovered, require a lot more than training to fix them.
• It would appear that a number of allegations revealed during the investigation have been fully investigated.

In short the press release leads to more questions and answers very few.