Someone blows the whistle when they tell someone in authority about a dangerous, illegal or unethical activity that they think is going on within an organisation. This can include health and safety risks, environmental issues, fraud, poor standards of care and other problems.
As your local council, we are committed to acting fairly and for the benefit of the public, and we take these responsibilities extremely seriously. If you know of any type of professional wrongdoing within the council, and feel it is in the public interest to report it, you can do this online.
Before you report it
Things that whistleblowing cannot deal with
The following are not whistleblowing issues. Please select the link for each one to report it to the correct council team:
- Personal complaints about council services
- A service that is missing, late, or of poor quality (for example, a missed bin collection)
- Litter, obstructions, vandalism or potholes
- A council decision that you disagree with
- Neighbourhood issues (for example, hedge and tree disputes)
- Crimes or antisocial behaviour by people who are not working for or with the council (please report issues like this to the police)
The following are examples of valid whistleblowing concerns:
- Someone has committed a criminal offence, for example, fraud
- Someone’s health and safety is in danger
- There has been damage, or there is risk of damage, to the environment
- There has been a miscarriage of justice
- The council is breaking the law (for example, it has not taken out the right insurance)
- You believe someone is covering up a violation
Personal grievances do not count as valid whistleblowing concerns. For example, bullying, harassment and discrimination are not covered, unless your particular case is in the public interest.
Report it
You can report your concerns using our online form.
Details you will need to supply
Our form will ask you the following details:
- what your concern is about
- the service your concern relates to
- the details of the matter
- the names of any people involved
- the date, time and location of your concern