Information on Investigations

Which Sector? > Local Authorities > Renfrewshire Council > LA/R/796

Note of Decision Web Version

Complaint no. LA/R/796 concerning an alleged contravention of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct by Councillor Marie McGurk of Renfrewshire Council

1. Complaint number LA/R/796 alleged a contravention of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct (“the Code”) by Councillor Marie McGurk (“the respondent”).

2. It was alleged that the respondent had contravened the Code, in particular, the key principles of Openness and Honesty in section 2.

3. The person complaining (“the complainant”) alleged that, at her surgery on 4 October 2008, the respondent made a false statement to members of the Parents Council of South Primary School to the effect that, following its closure, the school building would not be knocked down to make way for a supermarket but would instead be used by the Council as a special needs school.

4. The respondent stated that she told parents that she did not know of any plans to knock down the school to allow the construction of an access road for a supermarket. She denied that she suggested that the building was being considered by the current Administration for use as a school for children with special needs and explained that her comments in this regard related to a question which she had raised with the previous Administration some five or six years ago.

5. I considered carefully the respondent’s explanation of the nature of her comments to the members of the Parents Council. I could not perceive of any reason why she would give them false information or attempt to mislead them especially as, at the date of her meeting with the Parents Council, the Education Policy Board had only considered the possible closure of the School and had not discussed the future use of the building.

6. The proposed closure of a school is an emotive subject and it was not difficult to perceive how misunderstandings could have arisen when this topic was under discussion. I considered it highly probable that members of the Parents Council had misunderstood or misinterpreted the respondent’s comments and that it was this which had given rise to the complaint. I had no difficulty in accepting the respondent’s account of her discussion with parents as an accurate explanation of the nature of her comments to them. If there had been any misunderstanding, I was clear that the respondent had acted only in good faith. Accordingly, I found that the respondent had not given the members of the Parents Council false information or attempted to mislead them and that she had not breached the key principles of Openness and Honesty.

7. Having considered the information that arose from my investigation, I concluded that Councillor Marie McGurk had not contravened the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

D Stuart Allan

Chief Investigating Officer

Forsyth House

Innova Campus

Rosyth Europarc

Rosyth

KY11 2UU

19 January 2009