INVESTIGATIONS into a secret report about complaints against city council officers have led to no action being taken.

The controversial document covered a heated meeting of the audit of governance committee in February - caused by an argument over payments to a communications consultant.

Following the row, two reports were commissioned - one into the procurement processes, and a second into what happened at the meeting - and while the first was published in September, the second was delivered to City of York Council leader David Carr and has never been made public, despite public protestations.

However, the agenda for a staffing matters and urgency committee meeting to be held at West Offices on Monday, January 8, includes the minutes from a meeting on December 11, at which the report was discussed, and which included a note from Councillor Andrew Waller who told the meeting he was “aware of concerns being expressed generally about a perceived level of secrecy within the council, specifically in relation to business being discussed in private session”.

The agenda said members of the meeting received a report detailing the complaints against “senior officers”, along with “a report from a solicitor, commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) on behalf of the council, independently reviewing the complaints and the actions arising at a meeting of the Audit & Governance Committee, which had led to those complaints being made”.

It said: “Members were advised that, under normal circumstances, such complaints would be dealt with by relevant line managers. That not being possible in the circumstances outlined to members, the committee were, in effect, responsible for determining the next steps in relation to the cases outlined.

“The options available to the committee were set out in the report for consideration. Members discussed those options and the issues in some detail, including prevailing organisational and cultural matters which they felt had a bearing and negative influence.”

The meeting resolved that no further action would be taken and the officers and complainants would be informed, “wider cross-party discussions be organised with group leaders, initially to develop agreed joint approach to improving organisational culture”, and a report would be produced and given to members of the Audit & Governance Committee to highlight the “issues raised in the independent report from the investigator appointed by the LGA”.

Details on the exact nature of the complaints have still not been released.

A spokesperson for City of York Council said: “We can confirm that following a meeting of the staffing matters and urgency committee the investigation has concluded and that no further action will be taken.”