R e p o r t o f I n v e s t i g a t i o n

F i n a l

Report of an investigation by Tim Darsley, ?appointed by Teignmouth Town Council?into events concerning the funding of the ?Dawlish and Teignmouth Community Interest Company

2 9 J u n e 2 0 1 8

C o n t e n t s

1. Introduction??

2. Approach to the investigation??

3. The evidence gathered??

4. Findings of fact:

Undisputed facts

Chronology

Disputed facts

5. Summary of findings??

6. Schedule of evidence taken into account??

Appendices:???Documents 1 to 22

1. Introduction

1.1 Teignmouth and Dawlish are towns on the south Devon coast, located between the estuaries of the Exe and Teign. Tourism is an important part of the economies of both towns. ?

1.2 Teignmouth Town Council comprises twelve councillors and Dawlish Town Council sixteen. Teignmouth and Dawlish lie within Teignbridge District Council. ?

1.3 The Teignmouth and Dawlish Community Interest Company (CIC) was established in January 2013 with the aim of promoting the economic development of the two towns. Membership of the CIC includes traders and councillors from both towns. ?

1.4 The principal activity of the CIC had been to employ a Town Centre Development Manager, with the role of promoting the two towns.

1.5 The CIC was originally funded by planning contributions arising from the development of two supermarkets in the locality. After 2016, funding was provided for another two years by Teignbridge District Council the two Town Councils. Further funding beyond September 2018 had not been committed.?

1.6 In August 2017, Dawlish Town Council began consultation on whether funding for the CIC should be continued. Three consultation meetings were held, including one with the Mayor of Teignmouth Town Council. Dawlish Town Council decided on 6 September 2017 not to continue with its funding of the CIC. ?

1.7 Following this decision, questions were raised over what the Teignmouth Mayor had said in the consultation meeting, the accuracy of the notes of the meeting and how this had affected the decision of Dawlish Town Council. The confidentiality attaching to the consultation meeting and Dawlish Town Council meetings led to frustration and confusion in finding answers to these questions. ?

1.8 On 13 March 2018, Teignmouth Town Council decided to commission an external investigation to determine the facts regarding the decision of Dawlish Town Council and the related events. ?

1.9 The terms of reference for the investigation are shown below. ?

Terms of reference:

1.10 I was appointed to carry out the investigation on 10 April 2018. ?

2. Approach to the investigation

2.1 The brief makes it is clear that the principal purpose of this investigation is to establish the facts in relation to the events that have been specified. It is not an investigation into a Code of Conduct complaint. There is no complainant and no subject member. ?

2.2 The focus therefore is on establishing what happened through the course of the events, from mid 2017 to early 2018. What was said, what was written and what was done? ?

2.3 There is substantial documentation concerning the events, arising from both Town Councils, individual councillors and others. These include emails, letters, notes and minutes. I have sought to identify the most relevant of these, to establish a clear chronology and to reveal the linkages involved. ?

2.4 It has been important to speak to those concerned, to explore and clarify what they had said and done and to understand the context and reasons for their actions. ?

2.5 Through assessing this evidence, I have made findings about the events and the circumstances around them. I have endeavoured to answer the questions posed in the brief. My findings are made on the balance of probabilities. ?

2.6 I am grateful to all those who have provided me with information and their time. All have done so willingly and frankly and this has greatly assisted my investigation. ?

3. The evidence gathered

Documentary and on-line evidence

3.1 I have taken account of the material provided for me in the Town Clerk’s ‘confidential red file’ and other documentary information. This includes;?

The notes of the three consultation meetings held by Dawlish Town Council in July and August 2017,

Minutes of meetings of Dawlish and Teignmouth Town Councils,

Various emails and letters between Dawlish and Teignmouth councillors and officers and other parties,

The Mayors’ Handbook of Teignmouth Town Council, and

Articles in the local press in January 2018. ?

Oral evidence?

3.2 I have taken account of oral evidence through interviews and conversations with;?

Tracey Higgs, Town Clerk of Teignmouth Town Council,

Councillor Paul Burgess, Mayor of Teignmouth Town Council ?(at the time),

Councillor Lisa Mayne, Chair of Staffing Committee, Dawlish Town Council (at the time),

Ann Tipper, former Town Clerk of Dawlish Town Council,

Councillor Martin Wrigley, Mayor Dawlish Town Council ?(at the time),

Neil Aggett, Monitoring Officer, Teignbridge District Council,

Tracy Scranage, formerly Town Centre Development Manager,

Councillor Alison Eden, Teignmouth Town Council, and

Andrew McKenzie, Town Clerk of Dawlish Town Council. ?

3.3 My interviews were recorded. The written record of the interview was sent to interviewees for the confirmation of its accuracy. The dates of sending the record and of the confirmation that the record is accurate are shown at the end of the record. ?

3.4 The records of interviews are shown at documents 14 to 22. ?

4. Findings of fact

4.1 Much of what happened concerning the consideration of the funding of the CIC is a matter of record and is not disputed. I have summarised these events below. ?

4.2 The matters highlighted in my brief are contentious and disputed. I have considered these separately, making findings where possible.

Undisputed facts

4.3 From 2016 onwards, half of the funding for the Teignmouth and Dawlish Community Interest Company had been provided by Teignbridge District Council. The two Town Councils had each provided a quarter. Such funding had been agreed for two years, until September 2018. The fixed term contract of the Town Centre Development Manager, Tracy Scranage, had been extended in line with this. ?

4.4 It was generally known that funding beyond September 2018 had not been budgeted for by any of the three authorities. ?

4.5 On 20 July 2017, Dawlish Town Council’s Finance and General Purposes Committee noted that that the District Council would not continue to fund the Community Interest Company after September 2018. ?

4.6 It decided that the Staffing Committee should consider whether the Town Council’s funding should continue. The Chairman of the Events Committee, the Chairman of the CIC and Teignmouth Town Council should be consulted and then a recommendation made to the Town Council. ?

4.7 To implement this decision, the Town Clerk arranged three consultation meetings. For Dawlish Town Council, each was attended by the Chair of the Staffing Committee, Councillor Lisa Mayne, and the Town Clerk, Ann Tipper. ?

4.8 A meeting with the Chairman of the Events Committee was held on 24 July. He did not recommend continuing to fund the CIC. He felt the role of town centre development should be under the remit of the Chamber of Trade (document 1). ?

4.9 The meeting with the Chairman of the CIC took place on 1 August. He was happy for the CIC not to continue and suggested that the two Town Councils could take on town centre development. He was not able to quantify what the CIC had achieved (document 2). ?

4.10 The third meeting, with Teignmouth Town Mayor Councillor Paul Burgess, took place on 4 August. ?

4.11 The notes of the meeting state that Councillor Burgess confirmed that he had consulted with other Teignmouth councillors and was speaking on behalf of the Town Council. It is this statement that is at the heart of the concerns and confusion that followed. ?

4.12 The response given by Councillor Burgess was that the CIC should not continue, although continued cooperation between the towns would be welcomed. He reported a number of weaknesses identified by Teignmouth councillors. Various options for other forms of town centre development were identified (document 3). ?

4.13 On 22 August, Ann Tipper emailed the notes of this meeting to Councillor Burgess, copied to Tracey Higgs, asking if he considered them an accurate record. ?

4.14 The responses from the three consultation meetings were considered by the Dawlish Staffing Committee on 25 August. It was resolved unanimously to recommend to the Town Council that it should not continue to fund the CIC beyond September 2018. ?

4.15 Councillor Burgess had been on holiday when Ann Tipper emailed out the notes of his meeting. He replied to her on 29 August saying; the notes look fine. He added; Obviously, TTC need to debate this so I will ask TH to have a part 2 item so we can clarify what direction councillors wish to go down (document 4). ?

4.16 Dawlish Town Council considered the recommendation of the Staffing Committee on 6 September 2017. The item was dealt with in confidential session. The notes of the three consultation meetings were tabled and collected back in at the end of the meeting. It was resolved to accept the recommendation and discontinue funding the CIC after September 2018. ?

4.17 On 10 September, Councillor Martin Wrigley, Dawlish Town Mayor, emailed Councillor Burgess, attaching a scan of the note of the meeting on 4 August. He raised the question of whether they were a fair reflection of what was said (document 5). It seems that Councillor Burgess did not reply to this. ?

4.18 On 25 September, Anne Marie Morris MP, wrote to the Leader of Teignbridge District Council saying she had heard that the funding for the Town Centre Development Manager was being cut. She felt there was a very good argument for retaining the post and asked if there was anything she could do to champion the cause. ?

4.19 On 28 September, Ann Tipper wrote to Tony Watson asking him to; confirm that the District Council has not changed its mind and decided to continue to fund the CIC (and therefore the Town Centre Development Manager post) beyond the end of the extended short-term contract in September 2018. ?

4.20 Tony Watson replied; We have not made any decisions yet but we don’t have a budget beyond the current commitment. The majority of the original funding came from 106 contributions and our intention was always for this post to be funded locally after our initial set up funding ran out. Any decision will be part of our budget process for next year, but I have been advised as things stand it is unlikely that we will be in a position to provide any additional funding for this post. ?

4.21 On 4 October, Ann Tipper wrote to Anne Marie Morris to point out the reasons for the Town Council’s decision and that they were based on the results of consultation. She referred to; concern that has been expressed about why one person who is on a short-term contract which has already been extended by two years and who is not employed by the district council is singled out for special treatment when this has not been afforded to hundreds of their employees who have been made redundant. ?

4.22 On 15 November, Teignmouth resident Andrew MacGregor wrote to Dawlish Town Council to submit a Freedom of Information request for the notes of the meeting of 4 August. Ann Tipper responded to this, refusing the request on the grounds that the notes contained personal information of a third party. ?

4.23 Ann Tipper resigned as Town Clerk, with effect from 20 October. She subsequently went back into the office over a couple of weeks to help with the recruitment of a new Clerk. She also dealt with a second FoI request for the notes in the same way during this time. ?

4.24 On 17 November Councillor Wrigley emailed Councillor Burgess again to ask; Please could you confirm that this was a fair reflection of the opinion of the Teignmouth Town Council and that is still the agreed position. He attached again the scan of the notes (document 5). ?

4.25 On 7 December, Tracey Higgs wrote to Councillor Wrigley to confirm that Teignmouth Town Council had not made any decision on the funding the CIC. ?

4.26 At the Dawlish Town Council meeting of 10 January, Councillor Wrigley referred to the letter from Tracey Higgs. He pointed out that this was not consistent with the note of the meeting with Councillor Burgess on 4 August. ?

4.27 Tracy Scranage resigned from the post of Town Centre Development Manager on 12 January. In her resignation letter she referred particularly to the meeting with Councillor Burgess and claimed that; In effect false information fuelled my dismissal. If this false information had not been given to Dawlish Town Councillors they may have reached a different decision (document 6). ?

4.28 This news was reported at some length in the local paper under the headline; Manager Tracey: I quit! ?

4.29 On 13 January, Councillor Burgess resigned from the Board of the CIC. In his resignation letter he said; I have had over a year of harassment, bullying and intimidation and enough is enough. It is NOT acceptable for people to continually do this. He also claimed; Obviously someone is leaking confidential information to friends etc. ?

4.30 The resignation of Tracy Scranage and the following claims and comments was a source of turbulence and concern at both Teignmouth and Dawlish Councils. ?

4.31 Tracey Higgs wrote to all Teignmouth councillors on 17 January about her role in the meeting of 4 August. ?

4.32 There were calls from councillors for copies of the notes of the meeting of 4 August. Tracey Higgs started to assemble a ‘reading file’ of relevant documents. ?

4.33 On 25 January, she sought advice from the Society of Local Council Clerks on the situation and how to proceed. The response suggested; this is a question of politics, not law. ?

4.34 Teignmouth Town Council set up a working party to explore options regarding the CIC and the Town Centre Development Manager role beyond September 2018 but this seems to have proved ineffective. ?

4.35 On 29 January, Councillor Eden emailed Councillor Burgess, with the notes of the 4 August meeting attached. She asked; Is Lisa Mayne lying when she says these notes are accurate? She added; If she’s not, then this is a personal plea from me to save the council further strife and the CIC potential legal suits by resigning (document 7). ?

4.36 At the Teignmouth Town Council meeting on 13 February, Councillor Burgess read out a lengthy statement on his part in the meeting of 4 August. ?

4.37 He stated that: The meeting on the 4th August, 2017 was purely an informative exchange of current views of the Dawlish and Teignmouth Town Councils at that time. He also stated that; I can confirm I was in a position to express the Teignmouth Council members views from information I obtained following general day to day discussions and conversations with all concerned during the months leading up to this meeting. ?

4.38 Councillor Burgess also said that he had spoken at length with the Monitoring Officer at Teignbridge District Council; who has confirmed that as Mayor of Teignmouth and Council Chairman I am entitled to represent the town council, with or without their permission. ?

4.39 He continued; He has also confirmed that I have not misrepresented Teignmouth Town Council in any way in this matter. The officer also confirmed that if I have been asked to resign by any member of the Council as a result of this matter I have the right to raise a formal complaint against those who have requested my resignation. This is an option I will consider over the coming days.?

4.40 Councillor Burgess concluded by saying he considered the matter closed and that the Council should move on to more important issues (document 8). This view was not shared by all councillors, however. ?

4.41 On 22 February, Councillor Eden requested that a motion of no confidence in Mayor Paul Burgess be included on the agenda for the Finance and General Purposes Committee on 27 February. ?

4.42 On 26 February, Ann Tipper sent an email to Councillor Burgess concerning her notes of the meeting of 4 August 2017. She started by saying; I want to apologise to you for my mistake which has caused such a negative reaction to you. ?

4.43 She continued; The first sentence of these notes state that you confirmed that you had consulted other Teignmouth councillors. What you actually said was that you had formed a general impression from your day-to-day conversations with fellow councillors. So I am sorry for my choice of the word ’consulted’ which was imprecise. ??You did not say that you were speaking on behalf of Teignmouth Town Council - I added that because that is the role of the Mayor ie to represent the town council. ?

4.44 The email went on to comment on the reasons for the Dawlish decision and the role of Councillor Burgess’ views in it (document 9). ?

4.45 Later on 26 February, Councillor Burgess forwarded Ann Tipper’s email to Councillor Matthews, the Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee, suggesting it might be read out at the Committee meeting the next day (document 10). ?

4.46 Councillor Matthews forwarded the emails of Councillor Burgess and Ann Tipper to all Teignmouth councillors later that evening. ?

4.47 The motion of no confidence in Councillor Burgess was considered at the Finance and General Purposes Committee the next day. Ann Tipper’s email was read out to the Committee. Members commented that the current period had been the most disreputable in Teignmouth Town Council’s history. ?

4.48 There was no seconder for the motion of no confidence and it therefore fell. ?

4.49 A chronology of these events is given below. ?

Recent events - chronology

Disputed facts – the recent events

4.50 I turn now to the specific events identified for attention in the brief for the investigation.

The decision of Dawlish Town Council not to continue to fund the CIC

What did Councillor Burgess say at the 4 August meeting?

4.51 The starting point for this issue is what exactly did Councillor Burgess say in the meeting, particularly about the status of his comments? ?

4.52. I have interviewed the four people who were present at the meeting. Their accounts are summarised in the table below. ?

4.53 There is large measure of consistency about what was said in the meeting. ?

4.54 None of those present reported that Councillor Burgess had said he had consulted other councillors. The general view was that it was something like; I have spoken to other councillors and have an idea of their views. ?

4.55 Nor did any of those present report that Councillor Burgess had said he was speaking on behalf of the Council. ?

4.56 It was generally understood in the meeting that Councillor Burgess had spoken informally with fellow councillors and was expressing their views. ?

4.57 It was also known that Teignmouth Town Council had not formally considered the matter or made any decision on it. ?

What Councillor Burgess said at 4 August meeting: ?Summary of accounts

Were the notes of the meeting accurate?

4.58 Given the accounts of those present at the meeting, it seems clear that the first sentence of the notes was not correct. Question is why did PB not say this at the first opportunity.??

4.59. Councillor Burgess had not said that he had consulted with the other Teignmouth councillors. ?

4.60 Ann Tipper told me that she had used the word consulted. She wished now that she hadn’t because it had been picked on to suggest a more formal process. At the time, it had seemed a reasonable way of saying he had talked to other people. ?

4.61 Neither had Councillor Burgess said that he was speaking on behalf of the Town Council. ?

4.62 Ann Tipper said she had put that in because he was the Mayor. She had been asked to consult with the Town Council and she was making it clear that this meeting was the consultation. ?

4.63 There have been no disagreements with the record of the remainder of the meeting. ?

4.64 For a qualified and experienced Town Clerk, this was an unfortunate lapse. One poorly worded sentence would have a substantial impact over the coming months. ?

Why were the notes agreed?

4.65 Ann Tipper emailed the notes of the meeting to Councillor Burgess, with a copy to Tracey Higgs, on 22 August. ?

4.66 Councillor Burgess told me that he had been on holiday when the notes were sent out. When he returned, he had many other emails to answer, so he had given the notes a quick skim. In hindsight, he recognised that he should have read the wording more closely. ?

4.67 He pointed out that, as well as saying the notes were fine, he had said that the Town Council would need to debate the matter. That was a clear indication to Dawlish that Teignmouth had made no decision. ?

4.68 Tracey Higgs told me that she had left the meeting after about 10 minutes. She had also been on leave and had read the notes briefly on her return. She said she didn’t think anything of them because she hadn’t been present for the majority of the meeting. ?

4.69 It is worth noting that Ann Tipper sent out the notes only three days before they were considered at the Dawlish Staffing Committee. Both Tracey Higgs and Councillor Burgess only saw the notes after the Staffing Committee had received them and made its recommendation.

4.70 Whilst both of the Teignmouth representatives did not pay close attention to the wording of the notes, it would not be reasonable to hold them responsible for the consequences that followed. The responsibility for accurately writing the notes of the meeting and reporting its outcome back to Dawlish Town Council was that of the Town Clerk, Ann Tipper. ?

The decision of Dawlish Town Council

4.71 As Chair of the Staffing Committee, Councillor Mayne was responsible for overseeing the consultation process and making a recommendation to the Town Council. She told me that the general view before the consultations was that, with Teignbridge ending its contribution, the funding needed for the position couldn’t be justified. ?

4.72 There were three consultation meetings, the third of which was with the Teignmouth Town Mayor. All three consultees had expressed the view that CIC funding should not be continued. ?

4.73 Councillor Mayne told me that the picture that came back from the consultations was of everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. Based on that, the Staffing Committee decided to recommend to the Town Council that funding was not continued. It had not been based just on what Councillor Burgess had said. ?

4.74 She felt that Councillor Burgess should have been clearer about the status of what he said at the meeting. He should have said something like; my understanding is that there isn’t much support for continuing but we haven’t made a formal decision – I will need to take it to my Council and we’ll come back to you at a later stage. ?

4.75 She told me that if he had said that, it wouldn’t have made any difference to the recommendation of the Staffing Committee. In her view, it would have been the same outcome even if Teignmouth had wanted to keep the role going. Spending that much public money couldn’t be justified. ?

4.76 Ann Tipper also took the view that that it wouldn’t have made any difference to the Staffing Committee if the notes had said; it was his general impression but he would need to go back to his Council. She believed Councillor Burgess had not misled Dawlish Council into making the wrong decision. The decision was made because none of the consultees had spoken in favour of continuing funding. ?

4.77 It is not possible to say with any certainty what would have happened if the notes of the meeting had recorded the views expressed by Councillor Burgess’ views more accurately. I give weight to Councillor Mayne’s judgement however that the recommendation of the Staffing Committee, at least, would have been the same. ?

Findings

4.78 Regarding the decision of Dawlish Town Council and the part played by Councillor Burgess in the 4 August meeting, I find that:

Councillor Burgess did not say that he had consulted other Teignmouth councillors.?

Councillor Burgess did not say that he was speaking on behalf of the Town Council. ?

The general understanding of the meeting was that Councillor Burgess had spoken informally with fellow councillors and was expressing their views.?

It was known that Teignmouth Town Council had not formally considered the matter or made any decision on it.?

The notes of the meeting were not accurate regarding Councillor Burgess having consulted other councillors and speaking on behalf of the Town Council. ?

Tracey Higgs and Councillor Burgess only saw the notes after they had been considered by the Dawlish Staffing Committee.?

They did not pay close attention to the notes and did not pick up the need for their correction. ?

The responsibility for accurately writing the notes of the meeting and reporting its outcome to Dawlish Town Council was that of the Town Clerk, Ann Tipper. ?

If the notes of the meeting had recorded the views expressed by Councillor Burgess more accurately, it is unlikely that the recommendation of the Staffing Committee would have been any different.

The email of Ann Tipper sent to Councillor Burgess on 26 February 2018

4.79 Ann Tipper’s email was sent to Councillor Burgess on 26 February, the day before the motion of no confidence in him was to be considered. At first sight, there appears to be a significant connection between these two events. ?

4.80 Ann Tipper had left the Town Council’s employment some four months previously. She told me that she hadn’t known about the motion of no confidence. The newspaper coverage the week before had made her particularly annoyed. It hadn’t been fair. She felt she couldn’t sit back and watch this witch hunt any more. ?

4.81 She said she knew what had happened and decided to speak up and straighten the record out. It was purely coincidence that she emailed Councillor Burgess the day before the motion was considered. ?

4.82 She told me she didn’t know Councillor Burgess; she had only met him at the 4 August meeting. She had no reason to support him but she didn’t like to see people being treated unfairly. ?

4.83 Councillor Burgess had not contacted her at all. The only contact she had with him was to telephone him to ask which email address she should use. ?

4.84 Councillor Burgess confirmed that Ann Tipper had phoned him about sending the email. He said that, prior to that, he had not been in touch with her at all. ?

4.85 I find the two accounts credible and conclude therefore that the timing of the email in relation to the motion of no confidence was coincidental. ?

4.86 Ann Tipper had left her employment in October and would not have been expected to engage with Town Council matters after that point. The period in February immediately before the motion of no confidence was one of intense comment and activity so the coincidence of the two events is perhaps not so surprising. ?

4.87 The publication of the email certainly had major significance for the Finance and General Purposes Committee on 27 February. ?

4.88 Councillor Eden’s reasons for her motion of no confidence included what Councillor Burgess said at the 4 August meeting and the accuracy of the notes. Ann Tipper’s email had a direct bearing on these. ?

4.89 It provided an account of what had been said, from someone who was there, and an explanation of the wording of the notes by the person who wrote them. Members could of course make up their own minds on what weight and credibility to give to her account. ?

4.90 Ann Tipper’s intervention was undoubtedly very late in the day. Her corrections would have avoided much confusion and consternation if they had been made in, say, September 2017. ?

4.91 Nevertheless, I consider Ann Tipper’s intervention should be regarded as a helpful contribution to resolving matters, rather than an interference in the democratic process. ?

Findings

4.92 Regarding Ann Tipper’s email, I find that:?

Ann Tipper sent her email in response to press coverage and public comment in early 2018, which she regarded as unfair. ?

She did so because she wanted to put the record straight. ?

Her timing in relation to the consideration of the motion of no confidence was coincidental. ?

There had been no contact between Ann Tipper and Councillor Burgess. He had not asked or encouraged her to write the email. ?

The email provided information of considerable significance and relevance to the consideration of the motion of no confidence. As such, it was a helpful contribution rather than an interference in the democratic process. ?

Does the Town Mayor have the right to represent the town with or without the permission of the Council?

4.93 In his statement read to the Town Council meeting on 13 February, Councillor Burgess stated that he had; spoken at length with the Teignbridge Standards Officer who has confirmed that, as Mayor of Teignmouth, I am entitled to represent the Town Council, with or without their permission. ?

4.94 Councillor Burgess told me that he had spoken on the telephone to Neil Aggett, the Monitoring Officer, in mid-January. ?

4.95 He said the context was that Councillor Eden had been calling for him to resign. She didn’t like the fact that he was the Mayor. He had used the phrase to mean; I am the Mayor, so I represent the Council whether you like it or not. ?

4.96 Councillor Burgess understood that the Mayor could not make Council decisions or speak for the Council on matters where policies had not been agreed or decisions made. ?

4.97 Neil Aggett confirmed to me that he had spoken to Councillor Burgess in January. He had understood that it was in the context of a Town Council meeting that was due to take place. ?

4.98 He told me he had said something like; If you are the Mayor and you are going out representing the Town