It is August 2025 and we are still waiting for the Independent inquiry into the Send social media surveillance. There is a possibility it might take place with a report going to Children and Young People Policy Committee.

In August 2023, I emailed the original councillor who moved the Golden Motion calling for the independent investigation. The one that had been voted for in Full Council in October 2022.

The prompt reply I received recommended raising it as an issue with the Monitoring Officer Tim O’Gara.

On the 14 August 2023, I emailed a complaint about the then Mayor Marvin Rees and his failure to hold the independent inquiry.

I attached the following two documents to accompany the email.

On 25/08/2023, I received a response from Nancy Rollason – Head of Service and Deputy Monitoring Officer – Legal Services Bristol City Council.

She informed me that Tim O’Gara refused to allow the complaint. Interestingly, the email alleged that an independent person from outside the council had been appointed to assist. The independent person agreed with the decision.

This was an unsatisfactory answer. I replied to the email stating my feelings, also asking who the independent person was.

The next day, Nancy Rollason replied to say:

‘The Monitoring officer is away from the office until next week so we will respond when he returns.

‘Independent Persons (IPs) are people who are neither councillors nor officers of the authority but are appointed under Section 28 of the Localism Act 2011 to work with the authority to support them with Code of Conduct complaints and standards issues. Under the Localism Act their views must be sought and taken into account on any matter under investigation, the subject member may seek their views at any stage and the authority may also seek their views at any other stage of the process.

‘The Committee on Standards in Public Life has recommended that authorities should also seek the views of the IP when initially assessing a case as a further way of ensuring consistency and enhancing public confidence in the framework.‘

Then, on 13/09/2023, the Monitoring Officer said no once again.

However, at the same time as this interaction was going on, a hoo-ha was brewing regarding the independent person:
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-city-councils-top-lawyer-8840848

The hoo-ha was growing from information that not a single complaint – including mine – had been upheld against a councillor in at least six years:
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/system-failing-no-complaints-upheld-8821834

O’Gara had to backtrack his 09/10/23 claims that there was ‘no requirement’ for the independent person to be voted in a Full Council.

The ‘recent recruitment process’ for the council’s independent person would have to be vioted in at Full Council that was to take place in November 2023.

So obviously a reliable and trustworthy council role and department in which we can all put our faith in to operate properly?

August 2025 Update

On 22 April 2025, with no prospect of an independent investigation, I submitted a complaint to Bristol City Council.

Despite several prompts for an acknowledgement or a response, Bristol City Council failed to respond until Friday 08 August 2025. They only did so after I complained to the LGO that they would not respond to my complaint.

Bristol City Council’s response was the following:

The text:

‘Dear Miss Smith

‘I write following contact from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman contacting us regarding your complaint about a motion in Full Council on 18 October 2022 that was passed and called upon the Mayor to agree to a genuinely independent inquiry regarding alleged surveillance on SEND families.

‘I understand you are unhappy as this inquiry has never taken place, despite your efforts.

‘As your complaint relates to the actions of an elected official, it would not typically be handled through the corporate complaint’s procedure. However, if we were to consider it under that process, I note that the issue you’ve raised stems from a decision made during a meeting held on 18 October 2022.

‘According to the Council’s complaints policy (available here – Complaints procedures), there are certain limitations on what can be investigated. Specifically, on page 13 under the section titled ‘What cannot be complained about? (Exemptions)’, it states:

‘7.1 Time limits – Issues and events which took place more than twelve months before receipt of a complaint will not usually be responded to through the complaints procedure. This is because such complaints are often difficult to investigate fully or fairly. The likelihood of achieving a reliable outcome is significantly reduced because staff members may have changed, memories fade, records may be lost or unreliable, and procedures or policies may have altered.’

‘While there are exceptions to this rule, I’ve reviewed the circumstances and unfortunately, I don’t believe they apply in this instance.

Additionally, on page 16 of the same policy, under ‘What cannot be complained about? (Exemptions)’, it states:

‘7.7 Complaints against elected members (Councillors) – Elected members are subject to a Code of Conduct under the Council’s Constitution. If a citizen has concerns about a Councillor’s conduct, they can contact the Council’s Monitoring Officer.’

‘Given this, complaints of this nature are generally directed through the ‘Complain about a Councillor’ procedure, which you can find here – Complain about a councillor.

‘It’s also important to note that this process does not apply to individuals who are no longer serving as Councillors, or to conduct that occurred when they were not acting in that capacity. As the Mayor is no longer a member of the Council, and the event in question took place more than twelve months ago, we are unable to progress your complaint through either route.

‘I hope this explanation provides some clarity though. This is our final position, based on the information we have. You can now ask the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) to review your complaint. You usually have up to 12 months to do this, starting from the date you first knew about the matter you complained about, not from the date of this letter. The Ombudsman will normally only consider complaints made within that time but can decide to look at older complaints if there is a good reason to do so.

‘The Ombudsman looks at individual complaints about councils, all adult social care providers (including care homes and home care agencies) and some other organisations providing local public services. It investigates matters fairly and impartially and is free to use.

‘There are some matters the Ombudsman cannot or will not investigate. In these cases it will explain clearly the reason for its decision. Please see a link to what the Ombudsman can and cannot investigate, What we can and cannot look at – Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

‘The Ombudsman’s contact details are below. You will need to provide it with a copy of this letter, and our earlier responses to you, so it can consider your complaint.’

However, the response from both Nancy Rollason and Tim ‘O Gara in 2023 was that complaining about a councillor was not appropriate and that the complaint should go through Bristol City Council’s complaint system.

Bristol City Council continues to remain entirely untrustworthy and incompetent – potentially dishonest?