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Mole hunt underway at Pembrokeshire County Hall after leak of sensitive documents

8:50am Monday 6th February 2012 in County News

A mole hunt is underway at County Hall after sensitive documents were leaked to the press.

County Councillors have been asked to sign a declaration that they were not the source for leaked documents relating to the Pembrokeshire Ministerial Board (PMB).

The PMB was set up last year following the child safeguarding scandal that rocked Pembrokeshire County Council.

Stories about a confidential PMB report and a series of letters have recently been published in the Western Telegraph and another newspaper.

That led PCC monitoring officer Laurence Harding to email all members asking if they had disclosed the documents.

He has since asked all county councillors to sign a formal document confirming whether or not they disclosed the information.

In his report to today’s Corporate Governance Committee, Mr Harding says: "My experience is that the reporting of leaked documentation highlights the negative comments in all the documents and does not provide the context or positive conclusions."

Mr Harding said the council’s reputation could suffer "if it becomes tainted with an inability to guarantee its observance of its confidentiality obligation".

He added that businesses could become unwilling to discuss possible investment in Pembrokeshire if they felt their commercial dealings could be leaked.

The committee is recommended to ‘require’ all members to complete the declaration sent to them by Mr Harding and that the Monitoring Officer is given "all reasonable assistance" to investigate the leaks.

Comments(19)

Andrew Lye says...
12:49am Fri 3 Feb 12

I remember we had leaks at West Wiltshire DC and we never had a witch hunt like this.

I understand what Mr Harding is saying, but making allegations that businesses would be unwilling to invest in the County is almost hysterical.

If a crime has been committed, maybe the Police should be called in.

Is he 100% certain its a councillor that was the source of the leak?

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neil p says...
9:26am Fri 3 Feb 12

Indeed, I don't suppose the PCC can have anything bordering on the truth being released into the public domain, how awful would that be.

We are quite capable of making our own conclusions on articles thank you Mr Harding, without PCC spin.

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conspiracy says...
11:10am Fri 3 Feb 12

There would be no need of a mole if the council had more transparency and accountability. I say, "just keep digging Mr Mole" : )

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indeview says...
11:58am Fri 3 Feb 12

I wonder if there is concern that a member might break cover and disclose which officer is, or which officers are ultimately responsible for not informing councillors properly, to the extent that they have not been able to fulfil their statutory responsibilities; and explain to us the many failings in official procedures and why nobody is accountable. Members are advised by a small number of highly paid professional officers.
From the Audit special investigation report (65) I note that no attendance records are kept or monitored. How then, can members claim expenses for an approved duty?
Para 67 comments that councillors are involved in setting an overall policy direction. Does any one know what this is? I wish that propective members of IPG would let us voters know what this is before
an election.

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indeview says...
1:39pm Fri 3 Feb 12

Just a further thought, although the special investigation report is an agenda item due to be considered by the Council's Corporate Governance Committee on Monday, it is not included as an agenda document.
Niether is it referred to as an exempt matter. However, iIt looks like it has been distributed to all members.
For those interested it is however available on the WAO.gov.uk web-site.

It seems that we taxpayers are of little consequence.

Indeview - John Hudson.

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Tttoommy says...
5:34pm Fri 3 Feb 12

wouldn't it be better for the Police and the other agencies investigate the criminal waste of mone, the back handed *****, the look the other way, my wifes brother will be able to help attitude, and general incompetence at the council rather than try and investigate the good samaritan trying to help the electorate of Pembrokeshire?

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hayleyswood says...
6:54pm Fri 3 Feb 12

Safeguarding businesses? What about safeguarding our children? I can't see why these documents have been kept out of the public domain in the first place... This just illustrates the 'dearth of true transparency' taking place within PCC. PiCCiLeaks!

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A Anstee says...
7:19pm Fri 3 Feb 12

Confidentiality is one thing deceipt is another. Buisness is one issue and children are another. Children are not business and neither are the people of pembrokeshire.
Transparency and confidentiality do not sit well together, there is a need for both in every aspect of council business. Making good business should not come at the price of putting peoples lives at risk, or at the price of services for the vulnerable and elderly.
My understanding is that , that whatever a post a person does for a local authority whether a director, clerk or other service, the primary object of the post is to serve the people, if for some reason that is comprimised at the planning stage anywhere, that it is their duty to do what they can to protect the people concerned. They should neither be threatened or chasened for doing the job which they were employed to do..Safeguarding the services and people of pembrokeshire.

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Flashbang says...
10:46pm Sat 4 Feb 12

No charges will ever be brought as there looks to be too much dirt to be aired in a court of law. The last thing the PCC want's is anybody looking at how things are run there.

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Bushwacker2011 says...
9:25am Sun 5 Feb 12

For your information Flashbang that is exactly what the Wales Audit Office has done, however it is interesting to note that reference to the Welsh Audit Office report had been out for 6 days before the Western Telegraph saw fit to publish it on this website on Saturday afternoon and no sooner had it appeared then it was very quickly relegated off the front page. It strikes me that the Telegraph has a clear bias against the Council for reasons of its own and clearly prefers to highlight negative aspects of the Council instead of fair and balanced reporting.

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indeview says...
5:20pm Sun 5 Feb 12

I have just noticed that "Old grumpy" intends to be back with us soon. ( see his web-site).

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conspiracy says...
10:22pm Mon 6 Feb 12

indeview wrote:
I have just noticed that "Old grumpy" intends to be back with us soon. ( see his web-site).
Long live Old Grumpy! : )

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OldeGrumpee says...
12:56pm Tue 7 Feb 12

conspiracy wrote:
indeview wrote: I have just noticed that "Old grumpy" intends to be back with us soon. ( see his web-site).
Long live Old Grumpy! : )
Hear, hear!!!

Welcome back Mike old boy. Stick it to them.

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Tttoommy says...
5:17pm Tue 7 Feb 12

oh bushwacker, you council pr/spin doctor.
Its apparent what you are and are too scared to use your real name.
You'll say black is white in your job.
sadly most local papers are too scared of their local councils (and all that advertising revenue) . I applaud the western Telegraph for standing up to the haverfordwest Mafia

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Bushwacker2011 says...
5:57pm Tue 7 Feb 12

Sorry Tttommy, I'm afraid you are way off the mark and your use of typically emotive terms like 'Mafia' and 'spin doctor' says more about you than I could. If you were so concerned about local democracy, you and others like you would stand for Council in the May elections and put your money where your mouth is instead of sniping from the sidelines. The Telegraph shouldn't be standing up for, or against the Council, but should report the facts in an accurate and objective manner!

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philipw says...
10:17pm Tue 7 Feb 12

I am pleased to hear that Old grumpy is making a welcome return. He certainly rattled a few cages, but because of the way PCC has in the past closed ranks his complaints rarely got very far.
The only people who can really change the way PCC operates are the people of Pembs and I hope that when the election comes along in may that many of the discredited Independent Group are voted out and a new breed of councillors who believe in democracy,openness and real scrutiny are voted in.

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Bushwacker2011 says...
6:09pm Wed 8 Feb 12

With reference to my earlier comment about the Western Telegraph and accuracy. Note the item today regarding the deaths of those poor unfortunate people at Chevron where the Telegraph states in the headline that 'Police considering manslaughter charges over Chevron refinery deaths'. Nowhere have I seen anything that suggests this is the case. What the police spokesperson actually said is; "These developments are very much part of the continuing joint police and Health & Safety Executive investigation which is of an extremely complex nature, and no conclusions should be drawn from it at this stage."
Is this just poor journalism, or an attempt at sensationalism without due regard for the facts or the feelings of the deceased families?

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maesteg says...
11:26am Thu 9 Feb 12

Mirror, mirror on the wall, please don’t let me be the one to fall.
Don’t point the finger of blame at me, look in someone else’s tree.
You’ve had your sacrificial lamb, who jumped the ship and took the can.
Although into a lifeboat he gently fell, to be carried forward on the swell.
Now let the past just go away don’t rock the boat for us as well.
My ar*e is stuck in this soft chair, its nice and warm for me in here.
Don’t ask me to move myself or indeed what are the aims.
I’m far to busy making expenses claims.
Responsibility is a nasty word, comes with the job, how absurd!
My fat pension is all I care about, however much you scream and shout.
I’ll hide behind the bullsh*t bush with all the others in the crush.
So don’t expect me to provide results its not my fault the system sucks.

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drepemb says...
3:41pm Fri 10 Feb 12

I though that the councillors were elected to serve the people of Pembrokeshire! What is it that is so secret that the people who elected them should not know? It seems that the council is spending all its time with petty infighting rather than dealing with more relevant county issues. Has anyone noticed closing shops, businesses winding down, cuts to services, inadequate broadband availability … etc. ? There are numerous pressing issues that need action now. It will soon be time for re-election; maybe it’s time to elect councillors who are effective.

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