Complaints made against councillor over care dispute
CITY councillor Neil McEvoy is facing further probes over alleged “intimidating behaviour” during a dispute over the welfare of a Cardiff child in care.
A panel has decided the South Wales AM and Fairwater councillor does have a case to answer over allegations he breached Cardiff council’s code of conduct.
Mr McEvoy, who denies any wrongdoing, is set to go before a Standards and Ethics Committee hearing in the autumn.
If Mr McEvoy is found to have breached the code of conduct he could be suspended as a councillor.
Mr McEvoy is calling for the hearing to be held in public and said the alleged abuse of the child is the worst case he has come across in 30 years.
The complaints against Mr McEvoy centre around his conduct during a dispute over a child in a care home in Swansea who was allegedly being abused.
In April and May last year Mr McEvoy demanded access to the care home, which cannot be named for legal reasons, as the child allegedly told his parents he was being assaulted.
Two of the complaints against Mr McEvoy are understood to relate to him insisting a home visit be arranged and calling the police
to organise a welfare check when he was refused access.
A member of the care home staff has complained to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales that Mr McEvoy was “demanding, undermining and intimidating” towards them. Mr McEvoy denies these allegations.
A third complaint relates to Mr McEvoy describing a member of staff as “slightly overweight” during an audio recording of an incident at the care provider’s HQ where he and the child’s father were refused a meeting.
In the audio recording the member of staff appeared to refuse to identify himself and Mr McEvoy described the way he and the child’s parents were being treated as “absolutely outrageous”.
A source close to the family has told us that Mr McEvoy felt he was going to be assaulted during the exchange.
They say Mr McEvoy was not undermining or intimidating during his exchanges with the care provider.
Mr McEvoy said: “I’m glad that the committee want to look at the matter. This is about child protection and the way the system is used to avoid scrutiny.
“Councils like Rochdale and Rotherham, where allegations were ignored for years were slated not so long ago. But here we have a councillor in Cardiff asking probing questions about abuse in care and I find myself before a committee. It’s a worry for children in care and Welsh democracy.
“It’s not me who should be investigated – it should be the care home. For them to complain about me for calling the police is outrageous.
“I want it to be heard in public and screened in public so people can see what’s going on. Witnesses will have to give evidence in private but deliberations and proceedings should be done in public. Everyone should be able to see this.”