FOI request reveals councils spent £2.5m over five years in costs to deal with sexual harassment allegations

An investigation by The Observer has revealed that local authorities in England and Wales have spent at least £2.5m in the past five years on costs relating to allegations of sexual harassment.

Obtained through a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, the data showed that since 2018, 62 councils had spent more than £1,728,900 to cover wage costs of staff who were suspended after allegations of sexual harassment, “with accusations ranging from indecent exposure, upskirting, inappropriate comments and sexual assault to stalking and abuse of power”.

A further £800,000 was paid out by six councils for sexual harassment claims, including legal fees, claimant costs and damages to victims.

In its report, The Observer said that 103 councils refused to supply data or did not respond to the FoI request, meaning that the total “will most likely be higher”.

In the same timeframe, there were at least 320 allegations of sexual harassment against local government staff – 68% were made by colleagues, while 32% were lodged by members of the public, the investigation found.

Nearly half (46%) of the 225 councils who responded to the FOI request had received reports of sexual harassment.