I have had confirmation that Fiona Ledden, Director of Legal and Procurement at Brent Council, decided to take redundancy over Christmas and left the Council at the end of December 2014.
Ledden's post was recommended for deletion in the proposed restructuring of the senior management of Brent Council. A new post of Chief Legal Officer is proposed to be ring-fenced to three Hay graded lawyers, which includes Head of Human Resources, Cara Davani's partner, Andy Potts.
Fiona Ledden was mentioned in the Judgment of the Employment Tribunal where Brent Council was the first respondent and Cara Davani the second. The Judgment found that Rosemarie Clarke had been racially discrimination against, victimised and constructively dismissed.
Controversially Brent Council decided to appeal against the Judgment and last month a Judge at Employment Tribunal Appeals found that Brent Council had no grounds for appeal.
Deputy Leader of the Counci, Michael Pavey, has almost completed his internal review of Human Resources which has a remit limited to procedures and policies. It will be tabled at General Purposes Committee on January 29th.
Cara Davani continues in post.
This is an extract from the Employment Tribunal Judgment:
Ledden's post was recommended for deletion in the proposed restructuring of the senior management of Brent Council. A new post of Chief Legal Officer is proposed to be ring-fenced to three Hay graded lawyers, which includes Head of Human Resources, Cara Davani's partner, Andy Potts.
Fiona Ledden was mentioned in the Judgment of the Employment Tribunal where Brent Council was the first respondent and Cara Davani the second. The Judgment found that Rosemarie Clarke had been racially discrimination against, victimised and constructively dismissed.
Controversially Brent Council decided to appeal against the Judgment and last month a Judge at Employment Tribunal Appeals found that Brent Council had no grounds for appeal.
Deputy Leader of the Counci, Michael Pavey, has almost completed his internal review of Human Resources which has a remit limited to procedures and policies. It will be tabled at General Purposes Committee on January 29th.
Cara Davani continues in post.
This is an extract from the Employment Tribunal Judgment:
With regards to the decision being taken to pursue disciplinary action against the claimant,[Rosemarie Clarke] following the termination of her employment, the respondents [Brent Council and Cara Davani] have been unable to state by whom or when that decision was made. Indeed, by the evidence before the tribunal a decision was taken following a meeting between Ms Cleary [a Brent HR Manager] and Ms Ledden [Brent’s Legal Director]. In her oral evidence, Ms Ledden confirmed that Ms Cleary’s role at the meeting was an advisory one only, but also that she, Ms Ledden, had not made the decision either. Ms Ledden could not identify who had made the decision
I bet that went down like a lead balloon.
ReplyDeleteI do not know Andy Potts, but given the conflicts of interest that might arise, and the potential additional power and influence that this could hand to Cara Davani, the idea of him as Brent's Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer (the guardian of Brent's Constitution and Standards) is worrying.
ReplyDeletePhilip Grant.
I'm sure that Mr Potts is an intelligent man who will recognise that the impression his acceptance of the post would give would compromise his ability to project himself as a man of honour and integrity. As a professional with a firm allegiance to Brent and a man mindful and protective of its reputation, he will, I feel confident, conclude that, in the present circumstances, he would not e able to accept the position.
DeleteMike Hine
Lol, I'm sure you said that tongue in cheek Mike, if Andy Potts is so honourable the moment he started a relationship with Davani one of them should have left, that would have been the decent thing to do seeing as he is the employment lawyer. They both couldn't give 2 hoots about conflict of interest.
DeleteWell it's a new year, it's a new day and I'm fee-ee-ee-ling good, Anon 21.58, so let's give both Cara and her beau the chance to do the decent thing. I'm sure they will.
DeleteBut just in case they don't, let each of us make a new year resolution ourselves to broadcast to as many interested media outlets as possible, publicly if possible but anonymously if necessary (and protecting ourselves from any possible comeback or retribution), every instance and detail of every example of the conflict of interest and the potential consequent corruption which has been set out clearly here.
Mike Hine
'Ms Ledden confirmed that... she had not made the decision [to pursue disciplinary action against the claimant [Rosemarie Clarke]. Ms Ledden could not identify who had made the decision'.
ReplyDeleteIs the unidentified person who recommended that Fiona Ledden's post should go the same person that made the decision to pursue a disciplinary case against Rosemarie Clarke?
Damn right it is
DeleteI wonder if that is also the same person who, as a fixed-term interim, drew up the plans for the previous major reorganisation of Brent's senior management from April 2013, including upgrading the top HR post from Head of Service level (salary up to £90k) to Operational Director level (salary up to £120k)?
DeleteI wonder if it is the same person whose interim self-employed contract as Head of HR ended on 31 March 2013, but was soon afterwards occupying the post of Director of HR as a salaried Brent employee?
Philip Grant.
Yep the same person who now uses the title Director not Operational Director.
DeleteIs this the same person who had her status changed from temporary to permanent and her title changed to Operational Director on the intranet long before the closing date for the applications for the post of HR Operational Director.
DeleteWho's a clever boy (or girl) then?
DeleteHer by the look of it, until the rest of us get something done about it.
DeleteI'm trying hard to make a comment that doesn't include a profanity. It's just about impossible. This is just yet another almighty &*(£! joke - or at least, it would be, if it weren't so apalling and so serious.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many six figures Ledden got?
Calm down, Alison and seek equilibrium in the knowledge that:
DeletePrivate Eye's 'Rotten Boroughs' contact is tim.minogue@private-eye.co.uk.
One for your new 2015 diary:
ReplyDeletePrivate Eye's 'Rotten Boroughs' contact is tim.minogue@private-eye.co.uk.
Now Fiona is raking it in at Stoke council as assistant director for governance .....its a hard life
ReplyDelete