Ofgem has published its first annual “whistleblowing report” to increase openness in the way that disclosures are dealt with and to reassure whistleblowers they are “taken seriously”.
The industry regulator said a total of 79 “qualifying disclosures” were made to Ofgem between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018 by workers in the gas and electricity sector.
A qualifying disclosure means any disclosure of information which, in the reasonable belief of the worker making the disclosure, is made in the public interest and tends to show, amongst other things, that health and safety is being breached or a person is failing to comply with a legal obligation to which they are subject.
On receipt of any information, Ofgem will consider whether the information falls within the definition of qualifying information, and if so, what action it should take bearing in mind its statutory duties and powers.
In total 38 disclosures did not lead to contacting the employer but were held as intelligence, 15 still have background enquiries ongoing and 12 are still considered as part of an ongoing investigation/compliance action.
One disclosure, after further enquiries, led to the opening of an investigation while five resulted in ongoing contact with the employer.
Only three disclosures were resolved at first contact while three others were referred to another body.
In two cases Ofgem said it was aware of the information provided but the employer was not yet the subject of any formal investigation or compliance action.
Ofgem said: “The information provided in some disclosures highlighted problems within our functional areas and were able to act accordingly.
“For example using the disclosure to focus research, establish trends and use our statutory powers to obtain further information from licensees. Even where disclosures were not acted upon they still provide intelligence about potential emerging issues and this additional information assists our policy considerations.”
In its conclusion, the regulator added: “Ofgem values the information provided by whistleblowers and the content of this report provides greater transparency regarding how we act on the information we receive. All qualifying disclosures are taken seriously and will be investigated. The nature of the enquiries we make are tailored to the facts of each specific disclosure.”
Ofgem recently came under fire after a report in The Guardian on 17 September claimed two men who do not know each other and work in two different areas of the regulator raised concerns about major projects they were working on between 2014 and 2017.
The pair claim they were warned by Ofgem that their disclosures were a breach of section 105 of the Utilities Act 2000.
If breached, the act can lead to potential jail sentences.