Warwickshire County Council is "looking into" a string of allegations against Reform UK cabinet members brought forward by a rival councillor on behalf of staff.

In July's meeting of full council, Councillor Nicki Scott (Green, Warwick South) accused leader Councillor George Finch (Bedworth Central) and his Reform UK administration of being responsible for a "growing culture of bullying and harassment" that was leaving staff "scared to work".

Cllr Finch denied the claims and challenged her to provide evidence but in a subsequent interview insisted staff should "stop bl**** moaning", arguing their pay and perks compare favourably with private-sector jobs.

Council chief executive Monica Fogarty subsequently asked Cllr Scott to provide as much detail as possible while maintaining the anonymity of staff members involved, resulting in a five-page summary of allegations raised by approximately 25 council staff.

Cllr Scott has shared some of the detail with the Local Democracy Reporting Service with the agreement of staff members who made reports to her while leaving out details that could risk identifying individuals.

Ignorance and interference

Cllr Scott alleges that much of the ire is around cabinet members – the councillors who lead departments and take day-to-day decisions – "not attending meetings, not reading the information given to them" and going on to make "decisions that are not necessarily right for the wider council", instead being "very geographically focused" on areas where Reform has greater support.

She said she had been told of "dismissal of expertise" and instances where councillors were "not even engaging with" professionals, adding that Cllr Finch was said to have made decisions "against both officer and portfolio holder recommendations with no discussion, risk assessment or advice" – overriding the views of his own cabinet members.

"Interference at the last minute on long-standing proposals" is said to have caused "significant time wasted and anxiety", while specific departments report "direct and abrupt calls to team members accusing them of not doing their jobs well" with responses criticised despite the actions taken being "led by legislation".

Cllr Scott declared when asked that the feedback had been sent to her independently by different people.

She said: "I hope that by having the information, senior leaders (staff) will take note and attempt to influence how the cabinet behaves towards officers.

"It is very difficult and I don't underestimate how much they have probably already tried to do that without success. I think by bringing this out into the public, the leader will maybe better understand the impact he is having.

"Anyone who is leading – and I say this about the whole cabinet – has a duty to listen to the experts in the room and take into consideration what they are saying. I don't feel like that is happening very much at the moment but I think it is something that can be changed.

"It is up to them to do that."

Are staff anti-Reform?

Cllr Finch has faced various conduct complaints, including one from Ms Fogarty over the way she was treated and publicly vilified over her stance on flying the Pride flag last year.

But having had two independent findings of conduct breaches overturned by fellow councillors the leader has maintained that much of the kickback is based around staff not being used to – or liking – challenge from councillors as the ultimate decision makers.

In response to these latest allegations, Cllr Finch said: "It seems to me that this is 25 disgruntled staff – if they even exist – from a group of staff that didn't like us originally, that judged us and don't like it when we make a decision.

"It feels like these 25 members of staff are anti-democratic people."

Asked about the prospect of this being fuelled by anti-Reform sentiment, Cllr Scott said: "The feedback I have received is based on everyday working life with Reform rather than pre-decided ideas.

"That might be true of a very small number but the bulk of this is about what it is like right now to work with those people.

"They are genuinely being challenged a bit more but there are positive ways of challenging people and enacting change. I don't see Reform doing it in a way that is engaging and motivating for officers to want to make those changes.

"The officers I have spoken to are not concerned with being scrutinised more, it is how they are being scrutinised."

'Total rubbish'

Cllr Finch dismissed the claims as "total rubbish" and an attempt to "stir up a narrative that Reform are against staff". He insisted he would be happy to answer specific allegations in full if dates, times and details are provided.

He suggested that 25 people from a workforce of more than 5,000 represented a "very, very, very miniscule" proportion, referencing a recent staff survey where "80-odd per cent" of respondents were happy and "more positive than they ever have been".

"She is just fearmongering to scare staff," said Cllr Finch.

"Some of the anecdotes used are completely untrue."

However, he stressed that Reform runs the council and that "councillors decide, officers advise, that's the way it goes".

"We're not here to make easy decisions or have an easy life, we are here to make tough decisions and change Warwickshire for the better," continued Cllr Finch.

He reiterated that no complaints had been filed with Ms Fogarty or monitoring officer Sarah Duxbury and encouraged staff to come forward with grievances.

"If they feel they are uncomfortable when we have been ever so polite and tried to work with people then they have every right to make a complaint," he said.

He said Reform councillors "make sure we are available at any given time" for scheduled internal meetings but also that "if diaries don't match, whether it is councillor or officer availability, those meetings don't go ahead".

"When it comes to really important decisions our councillors are more on site with officers, talking about issues on the ground, not just sitting in meetings or on social media," said Cllr Finch.

On disagreements with staff, Cllr Finch said: "All councillors know their areas best. When an officer that has no clue about that area gives advice then there will always be the local input for the residents through the councillors.

"If the advice isn't right or appropriate, different decisions will be made."

The leader also denied taking decisions unilaterally.

"Cabinet meets weekly, everyone is across what is going on so nothing is out of the blue," said Cllr Finch.

"No officer is in our internal cabinet meeting so they don't know what is agreed. We discuss many issues, we have that debate internally and if a majority of the cabinet agrees on a decision that is the one we go with.

"We are not a dictatorship, we are a democracy. That's how the cabinet works, collective responsibility.

"As leader, I don't just shut everyone up and make my own decision. We work well.

"I will always make sure that Warwickshire County Council is a member-led organisation, not officer-led."

As for late changes to decisions, Cllr Finch said Reform had been "more involved" than the previous Conservative administration and acknowledged: "Do opinions change last minute? Of course, that's why we meet with officers to discuss those.

"If it is not appropriate to change, we won't, but if it is agreed change, if (a decision) is wrong for the people we will change it at any time. That is with consultation and advice from officers."

Asked for examples of where that had been necessary or worked well, Cllr Finch replied: "I am answering questions based on what Nicki Scott has said, so Nicki Scott needs to provide the examples, not me."

He again called for specific instances and evidence of 'abrupt' phone calls but admitted that there are occasions where "cabinet members will need to deal with things abruptly".

"We're not just going to make ad-hoc decisions or sit on our hands," said Cllr Finch.

"We are a member-led organisation, there will be discussions people don't like but that is what the people of Warwickshire voted for.

"We are very professional. We will have our concerns, we will have that debate and we grant them that. They (staff) are only there to give us their advice but I quite like having their input."

Rare input from the chief executive

The situation has also inspired a rare public comment from Ms Fogarty who sought to distinguish the council's employed senior officials from the elected political leadership.

Her statement, issued by Warwickshire County Council, read: "It is of the utmost importance to exercise my duty of care to all staff of the county council.

"Political leadership and managerial leadership are very different. I am aware of the recent reports of comments received by Councillor Scott from a small group of colleagues, and of course I am concerned about the anonymous anecdotes shared. I will be looking into these concerns which have been shared with me in confidence.

"The reputation of the council as a good employer is paramount to our ability to attract and retain the best employees."

She cited survey data showing that 78 per cent of staff who responded – just over half did so – were proud to work for the council, 87 per cent knew where to access wellbeing support and 81 per cent felt comfortable to be themselves at work.

"These are extremely positive outcomes demonstrating how most people feel about working for the council," she concluded.