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Cllr Denise Whitbread
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Sacked teacher pledges to fight after benefits investigation

By Mike Pyle
February 25, 2010

A councillor dismissed from her job as a teacher for receiving benefit payments she was not entitled to has no plans to stand down, and has vowed to fight a ruling against her.

Cllr Denise Whitbread, Bracknell Forest member for Wildridings and Central, was fired by Holyport C of E Primary School in Maidenhead in June 2008 following a benefit payment investigation by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

Since then Cllr Whitbread has been reprimanded by the General Teaching Council (GTC) after a hearing which decided her conduct “fell short of the standard expected of a registered teacher and was a breach of the standards of propriety expected of the profession”.

Cllr Whitbread said: “I have made a formal complaint to the GTC who are agreeing to review my complaint.

“The GTC referral and their findings has no bearing on my position as a local councillor as it is a matter between me and the DWP.

“By agreement with the GTC I received the absolute minimum admonishment – they considered giving me nothing at all.

“There has never been a question of my professional ability as a teacher.”

An entry on the GTC website says: “Ms Denise Whitbread was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct in that whilst employed as a teacher at Holyport C of E Primary School between September 2004 and June 13 2008 she received social security benefits to which she was not entitled.

“Ms Whitbread received a reprimand (two years).”

The reprimand will stay on Cllr Whitbread’s professional record for two years but is the lightest punishment available to the GTC.

Cllr Whitbread received the benefits while she was employed at Holyport between September 2004 and June 2008 although she stressed that she only received the payments for a short spell during that time.

She also said there “is much more to this than meets the eye”.

Alex Jack, Bracknell Forest Council’s solicitor, said: “The information released about Cllr Whitbread by the GTC is a private matter between Cllr Whitbread and her former employer.

“As with all local authorities, Bracknell Forest Council operates a code of conduct for all elected members.

“The code is prescribed by regulations set out by the Government and is in place to ensure members of the council conduct official business in an appropriate way.

“The council can confirm that neither its standards committee nor monitoring officer has received, or is currently investigating, any complaints related to this issue.”

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I'm still fed up of MPs bashing others to try to raise their own status.

Yes, Cllr Whitbread has behaved appallingly and should not under any circumstances believe that she can appeal this.

However, suggesting that we should vote for UKIP because you're not another party is shameful, but unfortunately what many people will be doing. I would rather parties could actually tell us what their own policies are without referring to anyone else, otherwise it's just a load of rubbish - as usual!

I for one will probably vote for an even less well known group, as the UKIP just annoy me. Setting up a stand in Wokingham Winter Carnival when most people were there for charity was just revolting.

CMA
02/03/2010 at 18:56

Ms Whitbread,

After reading the above article, I am clearly left wondering whether your memory fades with time, and perhaps you have forgotten what the GTC FOUND against you. Namely:

"i) received Social Security Benefits to which she was not entitled ii) failed to obey the management instruction given to her by the headteacher to inform her of developments in the Department of Work and Pensions case against her iii) frustrated the School's enquiry into these matters by:

a) claiming she had instigated the investigation and not the Department for Work and pensions b) withdrawing her authorisation from the DWP to answer the School's investigation queries."

The punishment carried out does not dilute the offence madam, and as a Conservative I would not expect you to have the fabric required to resign, as the unholy Mackay/Kirkbride scandal has shown as but only two further examples. (they were pushed, whilst squealing & clinging on with their fingernails)

The people of Bracknell deserve better, and I trust that they will strongly consider voting for a REAL change - lower bureaucracy, smaller government, individual freedom with personal responsibility - the UK Independence Party.

Murray Barter Bracknell UKIP Prospective Parliamentary Candidate