'It's time to end bullying culture at the council'

SNP chief's plea amid criticism of officers

- KEVIN DYSON

The leader of South Ayrshire's SNP group has demanded an end to a "culture of bullying" of staff at South Ayrshire Council.

The Kyle councillor raised her concerns as members met for the second time to fill spaces in the cabinet and committees in the wake of the election of Brian Connolly as council leader.

With eight of 10 councillors on the administration retaining their posts, Cllr Dettbarn shed some light on some of the issues she believes have impacted on the work of officers.

She said: "I would like to publicly congratulate Cllr Connolly on his appointment and wish him all the very best in his efforts to take South Ayrshire Council forward in a positive direction based on priorities of the people.

"However, we also insist on an immediate stop to the culture of bullying and intimidating behaviour that has arisen in much of the last year or two."

Cllr Dettbarn said that she had spoken to the new leader about the behaviour.

She said pointedly: "Portfolio holders are not directors of departments. We employ highly skilled and highly qualified professionals to do those jobs.