Spies and Lies
In the late summer and early autumn of 2021, work began on the forum to improve the coproduction between parent carers and Bristol City Council.
In September, I was emailed by the forum’s new co-production coordinator. They asked if I would be interested in returning to the forum as it was attempting to move forwards.
I agreed to attend an information meeting on 20 September 2021 at the forum’s former base in Redfield. The forum was looking to work on its vision, priorities and to expand its management committee and improve co-production over the forthcoming 6-7 months.
The meeting was facilitated through Contact. At the end of the event, I agreed to re-join the forum as part of its steering group.
The forum transitioned into a charity and I agreed to be a trustee.
The new co-production coordinator was highly skilled, quickly organising an effective project management system and system for ensuring all relevant meetings had a representative in attendance.
Forum meetings were effectively organised with agendas and the process of policies to be written or updated began.
Expanding the reach to new communities was a priority.
In October of 2021, members of the Forum received a letter from Heather Tarbuck, Parent Participation Adviser at Contact.
Bristol City Council had made allegations that members of the Forum were ‘lobbying and campaigning alongside and concurrent to their Bristol Parent Carer Forum Rep role which is not what the LA’s grant is intended for and therefore falls outside of the conditions of this funding.’
The laughable accusations were entirely false. No one had campaigned under the banner of Bristol Parent Carers in any capacity. They just didn’t want active Send parents to be anywhere near coproduction.
I had absolutely no idea what I had let myself in for and that it would involve Bristol City Council staff monitoring what I was up to both in person and online. I fully believe that one of my children’s EHCP provision was withdrawn in spite by one of the council departments who were part of the spying.
In fact, Parent Carer Forums were welcome to highlight and work with campaign groups because funding is not ‘gagging clauses’. This was clearly stated in Contact and the NNPCF 2021 guidance.
No details were released to forum members regarding what the council was alleging, but the result was the forum and council agreed to take part in a series of ‘trust’ workshops.
Co-production was put on pause, with forum members waiting for further news.
No details were given to forum members concerning the spying other than a series of ‘Trust’ workshops would take place near the end of the year.
The two ‘trust’ workshops took place at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. I attended both of them. It was the forum’s understanding that things were moving forward positively.
It transpired that the ‘trust’ workshops were a waste of time as Bristol City Council continued their surveillance straight into 2022.
I am not the only forum member who was spied on. It is my understanding that several Send families had data collated on them. Some parents were not even part of the forum.
I am also not the person who had wedding photographs saved and discussed.