Complaints of inappropriate behaviour (2002)

Response

In the first instance, it may help you to know that there have been several routes to complain about this sort of behaviour in the House of Commons for the requested period. These routes are:
 
• The Respect Policy – This was for staff of the House of Commons complaining about the behaviour of Members or their staff. The Policy was permanently suspended in 2018;
• The Valuing Others (VO) Policy – For staff to complain about the inappropriate behaviour of other House staff. The Policy was permanently suspended in 2018;
• The Independent Complaints and Grievances Scheme (ICGS) – Implemented in July 2018, replacing the Respect and VO Policies;
• The police – for any individual to make a complaint about criminal behaviour by another person. Sexual misconduct and, in some instances, bullying behaviour can constitute criminal offences.

It is also worth noting that the Members' HR Advice Service provides confidential advice to Members of Parliament in their role as employers, however, MPs are not required to consult the service. In addition, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards (PCS) investigates allegations that Members have breached their Code of Conduct.
 
Under the suspended Respect & VO Policies:

This information is not held by the House of Commons.

The House continues to hold some records of the total number of complaints made under this policy, but this is not split into categories based on the nature of the complaint. To separate the complaints of bullying or sexual misconduct, a sophisticated judgement would have to be made about the information held, and we are not obliged by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) to carry out this breakdown or create this information.
 
Under the ICGS:

The House of Commons holds the monthly number of employees who have reported bullying and sexual harassment since November 2018.  In November 2018, five employees reported these matters and in December 2019, six employees made reports.

Information for all other months has been exempted from disclosure as, owing to the low numbers of staff involved each month (fewer than 5), disclosing this data may make it possible for individuals to be identified. This information is therefore exempt by virtue of section 40 (2) FOIA, as disclosure of this information to the public generally, in the House's view, would not be consistent with data protection principles in Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is an absolute exemption and the public interest test does not apply.

Complaints made to the police:
 
This information is not held by the House of Commons.

The Metropolitan Police Service hold information on all notifiable offences on the parliamentary estate, which may include complaints related to bullying, harassment and sexual harassment. This information is published on a quarterly basis and is available to view on their website. You may wish to redirect your request to them for further information such as the alleged subject's gender, party or outcome/actions taken by the police.
 
Complaints made to Members' HR:

The House holds records of some matters for which MPs have sought advice from the Members' HR Advice Service. This may include details of complaints by MPs or the staff they employ related to bullying, harassment or sexual harassment, as the House can advise Members on how to resolve those issues if required.

Relevant information for each month from January 2015 to the date of your request, the number is very small (fewer than five cases). The disclosure of the number of cases or subsequent actions with fewer than five occurrences would allow the personal data of the individuals concerned to be revealed. This information is therefore exempt by virtue of section 40 (2) FOIA, as disclosure of this information to the public generally, in the House's view, would not be consistent with data protection principles in the GDPR. This is an absolute exemption and the public interest test does not apply.
 
Complaints made to the PCS:

The Commissioner's remit is very narrow and she does not specifically investigate complaints of bullying or sexual misconduct unless there is evidence that this involves breaching the Members' Code of Conduct. However, it may help you to know that information relating to the investigations of the PCS is routinely published on their web pages. The PCS makes recommendations to the Standards Committee who consider any further action, and this information is also published.