Sheffield College refusing to answer questions on exam fraud probe

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to this week’s Monday briefing.

In July, The Tribune broke the news that Sheffield College had launched an internal investigation into allegations of exam fraud. Ever since we published that piece, we have continued our investigation, and have now been told by sources inside the college that two senior members of staff have now left the college as a result. However, when we asked the college about that today, they refused to answer our questions. That’s today’s big story.

But that’s not all. As well as that first big story, we also have another about a loophole in the Right to Buy scheme which means that some former council tenants in Sheffield are getting rich by selling their homes back to the council and making a massive profit.

As well as that, we have a beautiful home on one of Sheffield’s oldest streets, a big update on a long-awaited city centre development, and a horror film festival at the Showroom.

In case you missed it

For our weekend read, Daniel Timms profiled prolific Sheffield businessman James O’Hara. From hospitality to events and culture to regeneration, it’s sometimes hard to keep tabs on just how many pies he has fingers in. But behind the brash, confident exterior, how does our most prominent entrepreneur see himself? “Great interview, neither hit nor puff piece — and James replying directly to the comments is brilliant,” said Tribune member Perry Ismangil.

Last week we sent out two great newsletters to our paying supporters. In the first, Holly Williams met the team behind Gut Level, a tiny 100-capacity nightclub on Chapel Walk. Over the last six years they have struggled to find a permanent home but with a new membership scheme and the chance of purchasing their premises outright, they hope to secure their long-term future. And in the second, Dan teamed up with David Bocking to report on Sheffield’s growing professional dog walking industry. There are now an estimated 62,000 dogs in Sheffield and they all have to poo somewhere. But with a growing army of professional dog walkers in the city, is the industry getting out of control? An extract from that piece is below.

As I arrive, Tracey Tomlin from the Academy of Canine Confidence is just finishing up her walk. Tracey has seven dogs with her, all of which are well-behaved, under control and largely silent, bar the odd stifled woof. But she does acknowledge that some dog walkers are less responsible than she is. “If you hang around this car park for a bit you’ll see it all,” she says. “The good, the bad and the ugly.”

“All of my dogs know each other well and I know them very well,” she continues. “It’s not just ‘throw any old dog in and let’s hope for the best’. It’s thought through.” And are others a bit less thought through? “I’m not going to comment,” she says.

The big picture: Festival of light 🏮

The Parkwood Springs annual lantern festival is always a brilliant event. As the sun set on Saturday, dozens of beautiful lanterns made of willow sticks and papier-mâché were paraded to the beauty spot overlooking the city, accompanied by two samba bands and a fire juggler. The large fish pictured above by photographer Tim Dennell opened up to become a mobile shadow puppet theatre. For many more photos from the event, see his Facebook page.

The big story: Sheffield College refusing to answer questions on exam fraud probe

Top line: Three months ago, The Tribune broke the news that Sheffield College had launched an investigation into allegations of exam fraud. The Tribune is now informed by sources inside the college two senior members of staff have left as a result of the probe. But — despite the serious implications — the college is refusing to answer our questions.

Recap: It was almost three months ago that the college launched the probe, in response to freedom of information requests submitted by The Tribune. We had been tipped off that something was awry with the results for the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications — an area where the college was marking its own test papers (though the exam board, City and Guilds, has now removed this privilege). In recent years, pass rates have exceeded 90%, something a member of ESOL teaching staff told us there was “no way” could have been achieved “honestly”. We began asking questions accordingly, which led to the launch of the investigation (a previous investigation had concluded only that there was “maladministration” in the course).

Why it matters: Should these allegations be proven correct, it would not only raise serious concerns about the integrity of the college’s qualifications, but also about ways the college may have benefited financially. While the college receives 75% of funding for learners enrolling on the course, the remaining 25% is only received if they pass.

Departures: We have now been informed by reliable sources that two senior members of staff, who were suspended in the probe, have now left the college. This is a major development, as it would appear to confirm that concrete evidence of exam fraud has been found. (Out of an abundance of caution, we are not naming these staff at present.)

The college did not deny when given the opportunity that these staff members had left. But they refused to tell us why this might have happened, whether exam fraud has been found and what the status of the investigation is. Instead, we were told: “Investigations are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further until those have concluded.”

Not good enough: The college is a publicly funded body that receives comfortably the largest amount of adult education funding in South Yorkshire. It has also spent three months on this investigation into serious allegations, after carrying out another investigation earlier this year. There is a strong public interest in understanding what has happened here — the refusal to provide answers is a clear concern.

A question of dates: While the college chose not to answer any of our questions, they did make sure to correct us on one point. “Our media statement was emailed to you on 24^th July, not 25^th July”, they told us.

Know any more? Get in touch — all information treated in confidence.

The big story 2: The ‘yo-yo homes’ costing Sheffield council millions 

Top line: Former council tenants are getting rich thanks to a loophole in the Right to Buy scheme, an investigation by the Big Issue has found. These so-called “yo-yo homes” are houses bought by tenants under the scheme at a discount, and then bought back by council at the full market price, often netting former tenants tens of thousands of pounds in the process.

The figures: Data obtained by street newspaper the Big Issue under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed that Sheffield is one of the councils which spends the most buying back former council homes outside London.

• Of the 287 homes Sheffield council has bought in the last five years — at a total cost of £27,618,491 — 242 were homes they had previously sold to tenants under the Right to Buy scheme — a staggering 84%.
• They also shows that 1,570 council homes had been lost to Right to Buy over the same period. While they will have also built some homes during this time, they didn’t respond to the Big Issue's request for this information.

The loophole: Under the current law, if a former council tenant sells their Right to Buy home within 10 years of buying it, they must first offer it to their old landlord, which is usually the council. If they sell it within the first five years, the former tenant must repay a portion of the discount, beginning at 100% in the first year, tapering down to 20% in the fifth year. The current government is looking to tighten these rules by lengthening the time during which the discount should be repaid from five to 10 years.

A changing market: The Big Issue’s investigation has put the spotlight back on Right to Buy, which many believe has been one of the key drivers of the housing crisis. Since it was introduced in 1980, social housing stock in Sheffield has plummeted, before a more gradual decrease after the financial crisis. The number of social homes now stands at 38,235 — well under half of the peak in 1981 (95,293). At the same time, housing from private housing providers like housing associations has picked up some — but not most — of the slack.

Creeping up: In the wake of the financial crisis, the number of right to buy sales plummeted. But since then, it’s been on a gradual rise — though it’s down again in the last couple of years.

Our take: The Right to Buy was one of the totemic policies of the 1980s, but is increasingly seen as a problem. As the housing organisation Shelter has noted, the policy has caused a huge loss of social homes, has made it harder to build new ones, and has meant that many end up in the hands of private landlords. A change in the law can’t come soon enough.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

🪧 A man jailed over the riots in Wath-upon-Dearne last year had been disciplined by prison officers hours before he was found dead in his cell, a coroner has said. Grandfather Peter Lynch, 61, died at HMP Moorland near Doncaster, on 19 October last year, two months after being sentenced to two years and eight months for violent disorder. At a pre-inquest review held at Sheffield Coroners’ Court last week, coroner Nicola Mundy said she would give her ruling on the inquest's scope next week, but did not set a date for the full inquest. Ms Mundy indicated that she wanted the jury to consider Lynch's mental health and assessments from the point he was arrested and entered police custody. Our piece on the riots is here.

🏗️ Work has finally begun again on the £20 million Vista building, a student accommodation block on Pond Street which has been left half finished for the last 18 months. Work stopped on the building in late 2023 after the project collapsed into administration. However, The Star reports that BDP Construction is now back on site and aims to finish the tower next summer, more than five years after construction started. The Tribune covered the story last year, after we were contacted by an investor from Argentina who lost his life savings on the project.

🎸 A lovely piece on the BBC website celebrates 20 years since the release of Arctic Monkeys’ debut single I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor. The song shot the band to number one, being described by critics as the “perfect encapsulation” of what it was to be "young, pissed, lusty, bored, angry and skint" in modern-day Britain. And, in news sure to make all Tribune readers feel very old, the BBC also track down Jessica Rickards, the girl pictured on the cover of the single, who at the time was 16 and is now a 36-year-old civil servant and mother of one.

Quick hits

• Public consultation unveiled for S1 Artspace on Haymarket, BBC Sheffield
• New £1 million Fargate pub to open on Wednesday, Sheffield Star
• Self Esteem plays "masterful" hometown show at arena, Yorkshire Post

The weekly Whitworth ✍️

Cartoonist James Whitworth with his take on whether Sheffield’s booming dog walking industry is getting out of control.

Home of the week 🏡

36B Bank Street is a unique three bedroomed apartment on one of Sheffield’s most historic and atmospheric streets. As well as an elegant interior with high-end finishes, outside it has a private patio area plus access to a communal courtyard. It is on the market for £260,000.

Things to do 📆

Art 🖼️ On now at the Millennium Gallery is New Horizons: Growing Sheffield’s Art Collection, a new exhibition featuring highlights of the paintings, works on paper, sculpture and video art that have joined Sheffield Museums’ collection over the last ten years. The free show includes work by artists including Lubna Chowdhary, Lucian Freud, Dan Holdsworth, Grayson Perry, Bridget Riley, Marlene Smith and Mark Wallinger. It runs until January 26.

Music 🎤 On Wednesday, Sheffield’s first poet laureate Otis Mensah returns to the city to perform a unique and intimate performance at The Lescar. Backed by a full band, the now Berlin-based artist will perform an “electrifying and vivid blend of poetry and sound” drawn from his latest album before the noise my cousin, which features rap artists including Blu, Speech of Arrested Development, and Lando Chill. Tickets are £7-£10. Doors open at 8pm.

Film 🍿 Starting on Thursday at the Showroom is Celluloid Screams, Sheffield’s annual horror film festival. This festival opens with drag zombie film Queens of the Dead followed by a drag monster show from Cryptid Queens. There will also be premieres of revenge comedy Hacked, fantasy epic Deathstalker and Korean creepfest Noise, as well as classic showings of Return of the Living Dead, Tales from the Crypt and Martyrs. The event runs until Sunday.

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