Disciplinary panel established after allegations brought against Peterborough City Council legal executive

A disciplinary panel was re-established at a Peterborough City Council (PCC) meeting on Thursday (31st August) after its initial validity was questioned by one of the council’s top executives.

Rochelle Tapping, PCC’s Director of Legal and Governance, claims that the panel she was brought in front of last month was “illegitimately constituted”.

This is because its members weren’t officially named at its original establishment at another council meeting in July, which she says protocol requires.

PCC disputes this, saying their legal advice suggests that the panel was legitimate, but agreed to ratify it at a second council meeting regardless “for the avoidance of doubt”.

The exact nature of the allegations brought against Ms Tapping is not publicly known.

Indeed, much of this week’s council meeting was held in private – away from the press and public – but attended by PCC councillors as well as government solicitor Simon Goacher from the Weightmans law firm and employment solicitor David Potter from the Freeths law firm.

Also in attendance were UNISON union representative Sharon Bishop and Maxine McFarlane, Ms Tapping’s mother.

What we do know is that the independent panel was re-established at the meeting alongside a second disciplinary panel; the reason for this is included in council documents.

They state that protocol means that an investigation and disciplinary panel, made up of councillors, must be set up to pass relevant matters on to the second, independent panel, which can then review the evidence and begin dismissal procedures where appropriate.

The members of this second panel have now been named as Grant Osbourn, Stuart Webster and Mike Sofianos.

This group has already met, on 14th August, to discuss the disciplinary issue, but this is the meeting Ms Tapping says was illegitimate based on the legal advice she’s received.

Independent persons are typically paid £1,000 per year for carrying out the role, while the chair of the panel made up of councillors is paid upwards of £3,000.

Ms Tapping's role, one of the most senior at the council, comes with an £100,000+ pay packet and involves advising PCC on the legality of its decisions and offering guidance to elected councillors.

The outcome of the disciplinary process brought against her remains to be seen.