Ministerial misconduct probes will be made public following U-turn
The outcomes of ministerial misconduct probes will be made public if they are partially or fully upheld by the Scottish Government in a U-turn amid a series of transparency rows.
In June, officials told The Scotsman it was not in the public interest for the outcome of any misconduct complaint madeagainstpreviousandcurrent SNP or Green ministers to be released. This meant the outcomes of any investigation, including potential bullying or harassmentcomplaints,would have been kept secret.
This was justified on data protection grounds and the suggestion that publishing the outcomes of complaints would lead to civil servants being less likely to come forward when there are issues.
However, following pressure from the opposition, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has committed to examining the possibility of publishing future outcomesofmisconductinvestigation – a U-turn the government has now completed.
Where a formal complaint is upheldeitherinfullorpartially, ministerswillbenamedandthe outcomepublished,alongsidea redactedversionofthedecision report to protect the identity of the complainant. The number of complaints made will now be published every six months.
The name of ministers who faced complaints which were not upheld will also be published online for a period of six months, the Government said.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the move would improve transparency while protecting complainants.
He said: “The First Minister advised the Scottish Parliament in June that the ministerial code and complaints procedure would be updated with regards to future complaints. The Scottish Government is determinedtobuildaculturein which concerns are addressed early and in which all those who are involved with a complaint have confidence and can engageconstructivelyandfairly in the process.”
Itremainsunclearwhyhistoric outcomes of probes cannot be made public using the same method.
Thecomplaintsmadeagainst Fergus Ewing, the SNP veteran and former minister, which saw three civil servants make allegations of bullying behaviour while he was in Government,appeartobesettoremain secret. Mr Ewing was said to have rejected the complaints made against him.
An updated version of the ministerial code will also be published in the near future.
Ministers came under fresh pressure around the complaints against Mr Ewing after the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) ruled the Governmenthadwronglywithheld details of the number of civil servants sacked for misconduct.thisincludedstaffsacked forbullying,harassment,drugs or alcohol, with ministers initially relying on GDPR rules to keep the information secret.
In a decision notice, Margaret Keyse, head of enforcement at the commissioner’s office, said the SIC was “not satisfied” a “realistic causal chain existed” to allow individuals to be identified from the data.
Scottishlabour’sdeputyleader Jackie Baillie said the transparency ruling demonstrated the First Minister had “lied” about why Mr Ewing’s complaint outcome could not be made public.