Downing Street Says » No10 Bullying

Asked whether the Government was ruling out any kind of inquiry into the allegations against the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) told the assembled press that there were no plans for an inquiry.

Asked about the contacts that Mrs Pratt had had from staff at No10 and the Deputy Prime Minister’s department, the PMS replied that Mrs Pratt decided to announce yesterday that she had received these emails. The PMS said that there were issues around confidentiality so it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to comment any further.

The Civil Service had a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment and there were a number of mechanisms in place, which were referred to in an email sent by Jeremy Heywood that had found its way into the public domain.

Asked if there had been previous complaints or grievances raised by No10 staff, the PMS replied that the number of complaints in the Cabinet Office was very low and were actually lower than the average across Government.

Asked if these complaints were against staff or politicians, the PMS said that he could reassure people that there had been no complaints against the Prime Minister in the whole of his term in office. Asked what very low meant, the PMS said he would not hazard a guess, but he thought this information would be available online in due course.

Put that Government procedures did not preclude people calling an external bullying helpline, the PMS said that it would be impossible to know who called that helpline unless somebody decided to break the confidentiality of it. The Government would hope that given the procedures that were in place and the encouragement that is given to line managers to work with members of staff, it would be rare that staff would feel the need to call external helplines.

Asked if there had been any representations from trade unions or staff bodies, the PMS said there not been any.

Asked about the reference to Jeremy Heywood’s email, the PMS said an internal note had been sent round by Jeremy Heywood, which had then been mentioned on a TV channel. Asked why Jeremy Heywood felt the need to send round the email, the PMS said that there had been a lot of coverage over the weekend and he thought it right to reach out to staff.

Asked if the email was a statement of Jeremy Heywood’s view on the subject of bullying, the PMS said it was an encouragement that there were procedures in place and that no organisation could afford to be complacent on the matter. Asked if this suggested that while the process existed, people found it ineffective and were forced to complain elsewhere, the PMS replied that we did not know the circumstances surrounding the alleged complaints to Mrs Pratt.

The PMS added that the Cabinet Secretary wanted to make it clear that he had never raised concerns with the Prime Minister about him acting in a bullying or intimidatory manner in relation to No10 staff, let alone giving him a verbal warning.

Asked if there was any kind of pep-talk with the Prime Minister, the PMS said that of course the Cabinet Secretary and the Prime Minister had had conversations more generally about how the Civil Service could best support the Government and how Ministers and officials could work together in delivering the Government’s objectives.

Asked if the Prime Minister shared the view of Lord Mandelson that there was some kind of political chicanery behind this, the PMS said that it was not for him to comment on any party political aspects of the issue.

Asked if Jeremy Heywood consulted the Prime Minister before sending the email, the PMS said that Jeremy Heywood consulted the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary. This was a routine form of internal communication.

Asked about the Rawnsley allegations and whether an inquiry was needed, the PMS said he didn’t see any need for that at all. The Cabinet Secretary had made it clear that there was no need for an inquiry. However it was always necessary to remind people that there were processes in place, which there were.

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» Monday, February 22, 2010

No10 Bullying

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