Council to consider recommendations of independent inquiry into handling of complaints about conduct of Sean Bell

Councillors will consider the findings of an inquiry into how the Council handled complaints about the conduct of an employee who took his own life after being charged with serious sexual offences.

The Inquiry was commissioned in October 2020 by Chief Executive Andrew Kerr following historical complaints about the behaviour of senior social worker, Sean Bell, who was found dead in August that year.

Highly respected QC Susanne Tanner was appointed to lead the Inquiry and will present her final open report at next Thursday’s Full Council meeting.

Ms Tanner has been supported throughout the Inquiry by independent law firm Pinsent Masons, who have considerable experience in investigative work.

In her report, Ms Tanner criticises Council officers for not acting on complaints concerning Sean Bell’s alleged verbal, physical and sexual assaults, despite repeated disclosures from fellow employees and members of his family.

Evidence was also provided to the Inquiry describing Bell’s behaviour as an ‘open secret’ among colleagues, despite which no action was taken. This allowed him to continue with his behaviour and to discredit those who made complaints against him.

The Inquiry Team did not, however, find any evidence to suggest that Sean Bell’s actions were connected to his role as a social worker, or that his alleged offences were committed against any of his clients. The Council’s swift escalation and handling of the most recent disclosure (made in June 2020), which ultimately led to Mr Bell being arrested and charged, was also recognised in the report. However, the inquiry team found that the Council’s communication with survivors in this regard could have been improved. 

Ms Tanner concludes with a series of observations and recommendations, which are contained in the open report and will be considered by Councillors at Thursday’s meeting.

These include reforming the Council’s system of investigation relating to sexual allegations, domestic abuse, physical violence, stalking or harassment, to make sure that it is independent and impartial and mandatory training for all managers on domestic abuse, coercive control and dealing with individuals making complaints of a potentially criminal nature.

Chief Executive Andrew Kerr said:

I want to start by offering my deepest sympathies to all the survivors of Sean Bell who suffered abuse at his hands over so many years, including those that came forward to speak to the independent inquiry and those that may not have felt able to do so.

This report lays bare the extent of his abuse and the terrible and long-lasting impact it had, and continues to have, on their lives. And, while it finds that he acted alone and that his actions were not connected to his role, this does not take away from the horrific nature of his actions.

Regrettably, it is clear from the evidence gathered that senior officers of the Council did not act on extremely serious disclosures by survivors, and others.

I want to thank the survivors and other participants for their courage in coming forward to give evidence to the Inquiry team. I can only imagine how traumatic that must have been for them. 

Ms Tanner acknowledges the efficiency of Council officers’ response after they became aware of the most recent disclosures, but I fully appreciate that the survivors will question why this didn’t happen years earlier.

We are grateful to Ms Tanner and the Pinsent Masons team who supported her Inquiry for their sensitive and forensic approach to their investigation.

Councillors will now carefully consider the findings outlined in the open report and how best to adopt its recommendations. We will do everything in our power to ensure this can never happen again.

Published: October 22nd 2021