Recommendation 16

The annual RAC data collection does not cover the treatment of whistleblowers; for example whether a whistleblower in a specific case has experienced any mistreatment, such as victimisation or bullying.39 The ‘whistleblowing heath check’ guidance issued by the Cabinet Office suggests departments should gather feedback from individuals on whether their concerns have been handled responsibly, professionally and in a positive manner. However, the National Audit Office found that most departments do not routinely request information directly from whistleblowers about their experience.40 Some feedback is given to departments through discussions with their nominated officers, but it is not collected in a systematic way to draw out comparable, specific data points.41 HMRC acknowledged that it needed to do further work in this area so it can report on this data going forward.42