Thread by @johnelworthy

A thread from a story I wrote a year ago, based on a whistle blower from 2019 as we investigated #famrgate. I am busy going through today's findings but if anyone thinks this is all over, they are surely wrong. Hickford may have been the transgressor but who allowed it?

“A whistle-blower within Shire Hall, Cambridge, explained to me how they had been shot down whilst querying a farm tenancy being awarded to deputy leader Roger Hickford.

“We all felt awkward when we discovered Roger had applied for the tenancy,” the whistle-blower told me.

“We said to our manager – can you help? We asked if it was right for him to apply.

“We were told to treat him as another applicant.”

The whistle-blower said: “He became a familiar figure in the county estates dept.

“

“A colleague, woman in her 30s, was bullied and left in tears after dealing with Roger. She was encouraged not to make a formal complaint.

“She was told – by Chris Malyon (finance chief and deputy chief executive) – to not make a complaint because ‘it will look bad on you.’

“She had no option but to withdraw but insisted on an email of apology.

“Hickford reluctantly sent one to her – grudgingly – she described it as awful.

“It said ‘sorry if I have upset you’”

On Friday the county council refused – once more – to allow its audit and accounts committee to publish the findings of the Mazar report into the Manor Farm tenancy.

However, one of the outcomes is the council’s urgent review of its whistleblowing policy.

Gillian Beasley, chief executive, said: “The council's whistleblowing procedures are being reviewed.

“Th audit and accounts committee will be asked to consider an amended version of these procedures which will reflect the findings of this audit.”

The whistle blower who came to me explained the pressure within the estates department at the time.

The influence of Mr Hickford – who quit as deputy leader and as a councillor once he had studied the Mazar findings – was obvious, said my whistleblower, within the council.

Once we had revealed details of the farmgate scandal in January 2019, “officials came round our department, warning of a mole”.

The whistle blower described ex-councillor Hickford as “too powerful and no one, including the managers, dared challenge him. They were powerless

“No one wanted to put their head on the line.”

Friday’s council statement said the tenancy of Manor Farm was advertised publicly.
“The tenancy was awarded to Mr Hickford and Ms Karen Burgess on April 5 2017 with a business tenancy signed on December 20, 2017.”

The county council continues to resist moves to get the full audit report released – and the audit committee chair of seven years Cllr Mike Shellens resigned in protest.

If the Conservatives lose control of the council in May, almost certainly the report will be published.

In the meantime, council officers acknowledge there are “specific tenancy issues” and “code of conduct and disciplinary issues” to deal with.

“Other serious concerns were raised as a result of the wide-ranging audit investigation,” said Ms Beasley.

“Eleven recommendations were made to be considered for further action in relation to financial, transparency and conduct issues”

Members code of conduct and officer disciplinary issues are on the agenda.

And Ms Beasley said both she and the monitoring officer – having accepted all 11 recommendations – will be considered.

These include whether transparency rules were always followed and whether “an inappropriate advantage accrued as a result of the tenant's position”.

They will also consider whether “behaviour towards staff was inappropriate” and whether staff “took appropriate steps in relation to a number of matters outlined in the reports”.

The chief executive will also re-consider their ‘Respect at Work Policy on how officers can make a complaint under the code of conduct for members and what support informal or otherwise is available to officers in this situation.

She said: “A pulse survey of staff has already been planned for April 2021 on the implementation and awareness of the Respect at Work Policy which has been completely revised over the last two years and it is planned to add some questions to reflect the findings of this audit

“Finally, in the new municipal year the ongoing awareness raising and training of officers and their managers will be reviewed against the findings of this audit and amended to reflect the findings of this audit. Induction arrangements for new officers are also being reviewed.”

#Farmgate has destroyed trust in the county council. Has driven officers to the brink - with potential lethal outcomes. Has revealed bullying on an industrial scale. And demonstrative weak, vacillating leadership.

Cambridgeshire deserves better - indeed one assumes Cambridgeshire was being served by decent, principled councillors

#Farmgate has cast light on a rotten, shameful, almost unbelievable episode in its long history.

And let's not forget it was this newspaper that earlier unravelled the whole terrible scandal of community transport wrong doing - again at a cost of tens of thousands of ratepayers to investigate

The arrogance of some councillors who simply take the cash (as a councillor) but fail to scrutinise ultimately shame - and fail - all of us

The stench of recent years will, hopefully, be forgotten but I fear not. Community transport wrong doing is yet to be rectified. And few are convinced £100m pumped into @ThisLandLtd is for the better

Today's report on #farmgate has revealed the extent of the scandal to a point. But like many others I believe we have a distance to travel to get fully to the bottom of it