Bullying and harassment complaints levelled at the SLC Board: FOI release

Information requested

1. Can the Scottish Government confirm that allegations of “bullying, harassment, breaches of governance and behaviour and conduct,” which sources claim were levelled at the SLC Board… have been submitted to the Scottish Government?
2. Can the Scottish Government confirm if any allegations of “bullying, harassment, breaches of governance and behaviour and conduct,” related to the Regional Strategic Body (NCL) have been submitted to the Scottish Government?
3. Can the Scottish Government confirm under which College Policy or legislation these allegations were submitted?
4. Can the Scottish Government confirm what actions were taken to investigate these allegations against Board members of SLC?
5. Can the Scottish Government confirm if any SLC Board members were suspended or asked to step down in relation to these allegations?

Response

1. Yes, correspondence regarding allegations of “bullying, harassment, breaches of governance and behaviour and conduct” related to the South Lanarkshire College (SLC) Board has been submitted to the Scottish Government.

2. Yes, correspondence regarding allegations of “bullying, harassment, breaches of governance and behaviour and conduct” related to the Regional Strategic Body, the Lanarkshire Board, have been submitted to the Scottish Government.

3. The allegations referred to in the Daily Record article of 17 March 2022 were submitted to the Scottish Government under the terms of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

4. The Scottish Government has not taken direct action to investigate these allegations. Instead the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), as the body with responsibility for investigating issues of this nature, has commissioned an independent review of governance and relationships at SLC, as well as supporting the Regional Strategic Body in fulfilling its oversight remit and SLC in responding to required improvements to governance, including its complaints handling. The SFC continues to monitor the situation and provides updates to the Scottish Government on these matters.

5. To allow due process to take place, the Board of SLC suspended the Principal and the interim Board Clerk, without prejudice, on 30 November 2021.

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