Statement from the Director of the ICGS
27 May 2022
A number of media reports have alleged there are 56 Members currently under investigation by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) for sexual misconduct. The Director of the ICGS would like to state on the record that this figure is incorrect.
Last year’s ICGS annual report stated that there were 15 ICGS cases against MPs for both bullying & harassment and/or sexual misconduct, from July 2020 to June 2021. The comparable figure for 2019/20 is 16, for 2018/19 it was 12 (source: ICGS annual report 2020/21, chart 9, page 25). Annual reports are published each October and quarterly data is provided about the number of calls and emails received by the ICGS, the number of unique helpline callers and the number of ICGS investigations started. We are seeing a similar trend this year.
Confidentiality is at the heart of the scheme and in order to protect people using the ICGS we do not provide a running commentary on case numbers outside the annual and quarterly reporting process, but due to the high levels of speculation about current figures, the Director of ICGS last month took the highly unusual step of emailing all Members, Members’ staff and House Service staff saying that we are seeing a similar trend in complaints so far this year.
Bullying, harassment and sexual harassment have absolutely no place in Parliament. We work hard to ensure the ICGS is a fair, thorough, independent, confidential and efficient process and that support is available to all users involved in each case. The scheme is there for any member of the parliamentary community who is experiencing or has experienced bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct. You can call anonymously, as many times as you like. You can also make a formal complaint through the helpline.