Guest post by Philip Grant
As regular
“Wembley Matters” readers will know, I have been active in seeking to get the
Council to ensure that Brent’s Director of HR faces the consequences of her
actions in the Rosemarie Clarke Employment Tribunal case, since the Tribunal
judgment was published more than nine months ago. Many of you commented on two
blogs posted last week about the announcement that Ms Davani is to leave the
Council at the end of June. One of the biggest concerns is that she may be
receiving a “pay off” from Brent in return for (finally!) leaving, which might
also include Brent “picking up the bill” for any damages and costs awarded
against Ms Davani personally in the Rosemarie Clarke case (in which she and
Brent are separately named respondents).
I had
hoped to get some publicity for our concerns about any such “pay off” through a
letter to the editor of the “Brent & Kilburn Times”, but there is no
letters page in this week’s (18 June) edition. Worse still, the newspaper has
also not included its online article about Ms Davani’s departure in the printed
version. Instead, the space that it might have occupied carries a photograph of
a smiling Cllr Muhammed Butt, alongside a story about a letter he has written
to the Tory Party chairman, complaining about the embarrassment which the
feuding rival Conservative groups are causing to Brent.
However, I
have raised the issue of possible financial malpractice (as a result of
conflicts of interest) in connection with any possible financial arrangements
arising from Ms Davani leaving the Council, with the Head of Brent’s Audit and
Investigation team. I will “copy and paste” below (for reasons explained in its
final paragraph) the text of the covering email which I sent on Wednesday
evening with my report and supporting evidence.
The other
reason I am writing this “guest blog” is to invite all readers who live in Brent, and who share my concerns, to write
to their ward councillors (see the link at the right-hand side of “Wembley
Matters” for contact details for local councillors, if you don’t already have
them). Tell your councillors (politely but firmly, in your own words, and
without abusive language, please) what you think about any possible “pay off”
to Cara Davani, and ask them to raise questions about it with senior Council
Officers and the Leader of the Council, with a view to ensuring that no such
“pay off” is made. You might also wish to copy your email to chief.executive@brent.gov.uk , and to cllr.muhammed.butt@brent.gov.uk , for good measure.
Individual messages from local voters, especially if there are a large number
of them, can make a difference, so let your councillors know what you think on
this matter.
I believe
that there is a strong case for Brent not to let Ms Davani’s “friends in high
places” give her a leaving gift at the Council’s (that is, our) expense. This
is how I set out this belief in the final paragraph of the letter which I hoped
would be published this week:
‘It is possible that the total Tribunal awards to Ms Clarke may be in excess of £1 million, quite apart from the Council’s own huge legal costs in fighting the case. The Council will have to pay whatever the Tribunal awards against it as “first respondent”; but funds needed by the Council for providing services (and supporting the jobs of local people who provide them) must not be wasted in making unnecessary and undeserved payments to Ms Davani, or on her behalf. Her actions have already had such a high cost, both financial and reputational, to Brent, quite apart from the harm done to the lives of the victims of her style of managing Human Resources in the borough.’
If you agree, please let the Council, and your councillors, know about it. Thank you.
Philip Grant
Text of my email of 17 June 2015 to the Head of Audit and Investigations
(which he has acknowledged receipt of):-
Dear Mr Lane,
Possible Financial Malpractice / Irregularity over leaving arrangements for Director of HR
Following the news last week that Cara Davani, Director of HR and Administration, would be leaving the Council at the end of June, there has been great concern locally about a rumoured “pay off” to her. This concern can be seen in many comments on online blog items, for example
and has also been expressed to me privately by several local councillors, who are aware of my interest in the Rosemarie Clarke Employment Tribunal case, which may (finally!) have something to do with Ms Davani’s departure.
Under Brent’s Anti-Fraud and Bribery Policy, your department has a duty to prevent financial malpractice where possible, so that funds are not lost to the Council because of irregularities such as undisclosed conflicts of interest. I believe that any potential payments, or indemnities, which might be given to Ms Davani as part of her leaving arrangements are likely to involve conflicts of interest, and have set out the reasons for this in the attached report and supporting documents.
I would ask that you ensure, as a matter of urgency, that any financial arrangements with Ms Davani, other than the payment of her basic salary up to the end of June 2015, are suspended until the outcome of a proper investigation into the points I have raised.
I will forward a copy of this email to Brent’s Chief Legal Officer, who will need to ensure that certain documents I have referred to are secured, and made available to you, and may also need to take action over some of the points raised in her role as the Council’s Monitoring Officer.
I intend to publish the text of this email, although not any of its attachments, so that its contents are on public record, thereby hopefully ensuring that there is no attempt by anyone in a position of power at the Civic Centre to stop you from freely carrying out the Policy’s stated intention to ‘investigate any allegation that may have a direct, or indirect, impact of the finances for which [the Council is] responsible.’
Please acknowledge safe receipt of this email and its seven attachments. Thank you. Best wishes
Philip Grant.
29 comments:
Philip is right - no pay off - legal consequences and the law be damned!
Brent & Kilburn Times' printed version omission of reference to the departure of Cara Davani may possibly linked to parent company Archant's sensitivity about not embarrassing corporate advertisers -- such as LB Brent. I have heard that another Archant title, Inside Housing, omitted an article that showed how nasty a 'social landlord' Genesis could be.
By contrast, during the time of a 2006-2010 Tory-Lib Dem coalition in LB Camden, Camden New Journal printed criticism of that coalition, and that coalition withdrew or threatened to withdraw advertising from that publication.
To be fair the Kilburn Times has been critical of the Council before and recently championed, with almost weekly articles, the Stonebridge Adventure Playground that Brent Council wanted to close (and did). Labour councillors have accused the paper of being biased against them in the past and biased in favour of the Lib Dems. Jim Moher complained to the PCC about a private tweet made by the news editor which he thought referred to him and achieved a ruling against her.
It is true that there is a lot of Brent Council advertising in the paper, a bumper crop this week with several ads for council property disposals as well as statutory notices, and of course the Wembley Observer is no longer published so the Council does not have an alternative.
I guess that's why they needed to increase their Communications Team.... have they actually told staff officially that CD has left, last I heard they hadn't. #Buttspuppets
Philip can you please post sample letter that Brent Residents can send to their local Councillors. Thanks
Poor Phillip - to write a synopsis of wrong-doings may take weeks and could turn into a living nightmare!
Publish the attachments please Philip, else how are we to know about the conflicts of interest? You've only given us half the info we need!
I agree - no pay off! She has duped many into thinking she can do what she likes as she knows it all - seemingly to make excessive bucks at the expense of others'. Methinks it's time for her wings to be clipped, in the hope of an awakening to the austerity, suffering and anguish in the real world - as she has used the establishment and sailed on coat-tails of many for too long..
Dear Anonymous at 22:04,
I think it is better that people tell their councillors what they think, rather than me putting words into their mouths. It does not have to be a long letter or email (councillors would probably prefer it short and to the point!). I have included a paragraph in my "blog" from the letter I had sent to the B&K Times, which may help with key points.
Philip.
Dear Anonymous at 00:21,
I'm sure that the attachments which I sent with my email would be of interest (and in some cases, amusement) to many readers, but they were prepared principally as part of the serious business of trying to prevent financial irregularities at Brent Council. I have sent them to the proper authority for protecting Council Taxpayers from such irregularities, Brent's Audit and Investigation Team, as part of detailed allegations that any leaving "pay off" to the Director of HR could well involve 'conflicts of interest'.
It is the Audit and Investigation Team's responsibility to ‘investigate any allegation that may have a direct, or indirect, impact of the finances for which [the Council is] responsible.’ I hope that they are now doing so, and I do not think it would help them if the people whose potential conflicts of interest they are investigating could read on "Wembley Matters" exactly what evidence they have been given .
You can probably work out which people at Brent Council, who could be in a position to make agreements with Cara Davani over leaving payments, are mentioned in my report to Brent's A&I Team, from reading the comments on previous blogs which mention her. If you put "Davani" as a search term in the box near the top of the right-hand column, I'm sure you will find many "hits"!
Philip.
So effectively asking councillors to break the law. That'll work
Possible sample letter to local councillors.
Dear Cllr (surname)
I am a resident in your ward and am writing to ask you look into the matter of the outgoing Director of HR possibly receiving a pay-off from the council.
I firmly believe that such a pay-off would be wrong and unlawful and I am adding my voice to those of others who are calling for an investigation into this matter.
It surely cannot be right for a person who was found by a Tribunal to have victimised a member of staff and racially discriminated against that member of staff to be paid public money to leave the council nearly a year after the Tribunal judgement.
Under Brent’s Anti-Fraud and Bribery Policy, the council has a duty to prevent financial malpractice where possible, so that funds are not lost to the Council because of irregularities such as undisclosed conflicts of interest. I understand that any potential payments which might be given to the outgoing Director of HR as part of her leaving arrangements are likely to involve conflicts of interest.
Information about this has been given to the council's internal audit department. Would you please ensure, as a matter of urgency, that this information is thoroughly investigated and that no payments are made to the DIrector of HR except her normal salary, until the outcome of a full investigation into the points that have been raised.
Yours etc.
I have now heard back from one of my Ward Councillors to say that they have asked Cllr. Michael Pavey, the Council's Deputy Leader and Cabinet member responsible for employment matters, to answer my question over whether the Council will make any "pay off" to Cara Davani, in whatever form.
As this is a matter of concern to both the public and councillors, I would hope that there will be a statement on this point, either from Cllr. Pavey or (as I had suggested) Christine Gilbert, at the Full Council meeting on Monday evening.
In the meantime, please carry on contacting YOUR local councillors about this case. Thank you.
Philip.
Dear Anonymous at 15:40,
I'm not sure exactly what in the blog or comments you are referring to with: 'so effectively asking councillors to break the law', but I can assure you that I would not wish councillors to break the law, just as much as I deplore it if they breach Brent Council's Members' Code of Conduct.
Philip Grant.
Davani going? Thank the Lord! As Florence and her Machine once put it: 'The dog days are over'. But why do all the good things happen when I'm on holiday?
Unless someone has already suggested an appropriate slogan, may I suggest the adoption of:
'PISS OFF YES. PAY OFF NO'
Mike Hine
Many thanks, Phillip!
Let's hope our elected councillors and leaders are not evasive about rewarding Cara Davani's unlawful wrongdoings with bucks and Butt's..
If there is an independent and thorough investigation into the alleged unlawful practices of Davani & Cronies, shouldn't the wrong-doers (including our elected Councillors who condoned the actions) be charged with misconduct in public office?
Dear Mike,
I hope you enjoyed your holiday. I'm about to go on one. I will be very pleased to hear that a good thing happened - a clear statement from either Christine Gilbert, Muhammed Butt or Michael Pavey to Brent's Full Council meeting that THERE WILL BE NO PAY OFF, OR INDEMNITY OVER THE ROSEMARIE CLARKE CASE, GIVEN TO CARA DAVANI - when I return from mine.
Philip Grant.
Interestingly, Michael Pavey also missed developments as he was on holiday too.
If they were charged for misconduct in public office, would it be for 'Acting in Concert' with Davani & Cro's?
Ms Casey, whose recent damning report into Rotherham Council resulted in the resignation of its entire cabinet, stated that Rotherham Council remained ‘in denial’ over the scandal. I cannot help but wonder if Creg Clark, the communities and local government secretary, were to carry out an investigation into Brent whether it would conclude that Brent Councillors were also 'In denial' over the Rosemarie Clark, scandal?
Not all Brent Councillors are "in denial", but so far none of the Labour councillors have been willing to take a stand publicly over Cara Davani and the Rosemarie Clarke Employment Tribunal case. That does not mean that they have not raised their concerns privately with Cllr. Butt (I have been told, privately, that some have).
It will be interesting to see whether any statement is made at tomorrow evening's Full Council meeting, about any possible "pay off" to the departing Director of HR. Will the Chief Executive or Leader / Deputy Leader tell fellow councillors and the public what is happening, or will one of them claim that they can't say anything, because it is a confidential matter relating to a specific employee, or will they just say nothing and continue their attempted cover-up?
If the Council leadership try to get away with saying nothing to Full Council, will any councillor(s) be willing to speak up, and publicly question them about it? I hope that those councillors who are well aware of what is going on, and know that it is wrong, will put their consciences before misplaced "loyalty to Party", so that they are not branded as "in denial", like their colleagues in Rotherham were over that Council's own scandal.
Philip Grant
Let's hope that Michael Pavey has enjoyed a refreshing break from the pressures of life in the Civic Centre, and that he is back in time to prepare for the Full Council meeting, and ensure that the Council will not give any "pay off" to Ms D.
Philip.
P.S. This is definitely my "last post" before I go on a much needed holiday!
In relation to Rotherham the Guardian reports..
The "council lacked “the necessary skills, abilities, experience and tenacity within either the member or senior officer leadership teams”.
Concluding that the council needs a fresh start, Casey’s 154-page report said: “The council’s culture is unhealthy: bullying, sexism, suppression and misplaced ‘political correctness’ have cemented its failures.
“The council is currently incapable of tackling its weaknesses without a sustained intervention.”
She also criticised the council’s deep-rooted culture of suppressing bad news and ignoring hard issues, writing: “RMBC goes to some length to cover up information and to silence whistleblowers.” Does it sound familiar..?
Let's hope Carolyn Downs has the tenacity to root out this unhealthy culture.
For further reading into article into Rotherham ref. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/04/rotherham-council-denial-child-sexual-exploitation-failures-report
Before attending Monday's meeting perhaps he should take a walk on the opposite side of his road to observe much green household waste dumped in nearby bushes. Another indication of residents' unhappiness with the council.
DAVANI’S RESIGNATION TO BE CELEBRATED AT GLASTONBURY?
It will not have escaped WM readers’ notice that Florence and the Machine are headlining at Glastonbury on Friday. One of the group’s early hits was ‘ Dog Days are Over’. It is likely that Florence will have more recent material to perform and this 5 year old song might well not figure in her set. Nevertheless I have presumed to write to the group on behalf of WM readers pointing out the title’s meaning for Brent residents and Civic Centre employees in particular and asking her to please include it in her set as a gesture of solidarity. I realise though that it’s unlikely that such a star will change her setlist in this way.
However, if on Friday night you are actually at Glastonbury or watching on BBC tv and you hear Florence shout ‘This one’s called ‘Dog Days are Over’, there can surely be no other way to interpret this than as her very loud and public celebration of our own dear diva’s impending ‘career break’.
Mike Hine
PS You can catch it on iPlayer when you get back, Philip.
I shall put the champaign on ice for a good garden party with the National Press!
..Should have said a champaign party with people that matters from WM and the National Press!
Over the weekend, I wrote to my ward councillors and to Cllrs Aslam Choudry and Bobby Thomas with whom I have served on different groups in the past.
At the time of writing I have received replies only from Cllr Choudry and Cllr Thomas. It may be that my ward councillors have joined Philip on his holiday.
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