A call has been made for an investigation into bullying at the council.

A group of councillors have called for an external investigation after 10 per cent of Cheshire East staff members who responded to a survey said they felt bullying was an issue.

Sam Corcoran, Cheshire East Council Labour spokesman, said Labour had previously asked for an investigation into bullying but it was deferred.

He said: “In December 2015 we tabled a motion calling for an external investigation into allegations of bullying. Our request was deferred and has not yet been honoured. But the staff survey shows that concerns over bullying have not gone away. We should not wait any longer before taking action on the ongoing concerns.

“Concerns over the culture of the organisation were raised by the Designated Independent Person (DIP) who investigated the Lyme Green fiasco.

“Although the Council paid £225,000 for the DIP report, they do not appear to have acted effectively to address its findings. The Labour Group is now calling for a quick and independent investigation to establish the extent of the problem at Cheshire East Council.”

The staff survey was undertaken during June and July 2016 to find out staff views in relation to bullying and harassment and 3,750 people were invited to take part. The response rate was 59pc.

The survey asked staff to answer if ‘where I work bullying is not an issue’, and 10pc of those who answered said they ‘disagreed’. The majority of staff who answered did however say they considered themselves to be treated with respect.

A council spokesman said: “The council has established a reassurance working group which has commissioned further work to ensure that issues are understood and actions taken. The work of the staffing committee also provides re-assurance that the wellbeing of staff is aligned to best practice and values and has increased confidence that appropriate HR processes are in place for staff to speak out on matters of concern. The appropriate policies and procedures will be updated as a priority and appropriate training and development will be made available for all staff to reinforce fairness and respect to reduce negative behaviours in the workplace.”

He added that they have formed a staff survey governance group, chaired by the chief operating officer.