Who kicked the dogs out...but let Waffles in?

On 3 July 2026, Suffolk County Council's Safety, Health and Wellbeing team completed a risk assessment titled, with admirable bluntness, "Councillor Michael Hadwen to bring his dog into the workplace".

The dog in question, the council has since confirmed, was rescue dog Waffles, adopted from the Blue Cross in Suffolk.

The document, prepared for the Leaders' Office, ran through the full canon of workplace canine hazards — supervision, insurance, toileting, allergies, phobias, fire evacuation — and set a review date of 3 January 2027. Urgent by council standards.

The same afternoon, Mike Leake, the council's Head of Health and Safety, emailed Cllr Hadwen directly. "I believe the control measures as outlined and agreed, are both proportionate and pragmatic," he wrote, before asking the Leader to provide evidence of his insurance cover, the details of a designated responsible person for his absence, and emergency contact information, to a named member of the health and safety team.

Later that day, Mr Leake forwarded the risk assessment to four named colleagues elsewhere in the council: Andrew Cook, Nigel Inniss, Tim Jermyn and Matthew West. The assessment, he wrote, "has been shared with him and all control measures discussed and agreed," and "office signage has been produced and handed to him for display on the office door," informing the council's workforce at large that Waffles now resided there.

Top dog in, every other dog out

Five days later, on 8 July 2026, the council's Assistance Dogs in the Workplace guidance, document SHAW53G, was quietly updated to v1.2. Its change history records the update with the sort of understatement normally reserved for minutes of a parish council meeting: "Update to include pets."

The revised text, approved by Safety, Health and Wellbeing Advisor Martin Fisher and accountable to Mr Leake as Head of Health and Safety, states: "SCC does not allow emotional support animals or pets onto its premises." Until that point, the guidance had applied only to trained assistance dogs, which it takes some care to define as auxiliary aids under the Equality Act 2010 — expressly, repeatedly, not pets.

A further document, described in later correspondence as a Pets at Work Policy, is understood to have been issued on 9 July 2026 — six days after the risk assessment for Waffles was agreed, and one day after staff were told, in colours most often associated with border collies, that pets were banned. Whatever else can be said about the timing or the hypocrisy of it, nobody could accuse the council of dawdling.

The council has since confirmed that neither document applies to elected members at all. Whatever the reason for the new rules, the rules themselves were never going to touch Waffles.

The council responds

The questions arose after a formal challenge to the council's initial handling of a freedom of information request – a response that, on 11 August, left several points unaddressed. Ipswich.co.uk put these points to Suffolk County Council directly, and the council has since provided detailed answers, together with a statement from Cllr Hadwen himself.

On authorisation, the council said Cllr Hadwen raised the matter after adopting Waffles, and that the risk assessment and its control measures were discussed and agreed with him by the council's Health and Safety team.

On the timing of the guidance change, the council said it was "felt important to avoid any confusion for employees who, on seeing a dog in the office, might reasonably assume they could bring their own pet into the workplace."

The Pets at Work Policy (PSCC039) was developed by Human Resources and approved by the Assistant Director for HR and Organisational Development; the amendment to SHAW53G was approved separately by the Head of Health and Safety. Neither, the council said, was introduced specifically for Cllr Hadwen — though many will struggle to agree with that interpretation given the sequence and timing of events.

On equalities, the council said no formal Equality Impact Assessment was carried out for the SHAW53G amendment, on the basis that it amounted only to the addition of a definition rather than a material change. Trade unions queried whether an assessment was needed for the Pets at Work Policy; the council said it considered this but concluded it was unnecessary, since the policy "formalised the council's existing position" rather than introducing anything new for staff. Union representatives were present when the policy was approved at the Corporate Change Forum on 8 July 2026 and, the council said, raised no challenge.

On insurance, the council confirmed that it sought confirmation of appropriate cover as part of the agreed arrangements, though it declined to comment further on the details of any personal policy.

And on the question that started it all: Waffles, the council confirmed, is "a family pet" and not a registered assistance or support dog.

A word from Waffles's leader

Cllr Hadwen started his personal statement by declaring: "The UK is a nation of dog lovers, and I'm proud to be one too."

"To be honest, I'm a little surprised that adopting a rescue dog has attracted media attention," he added, either missing or swerving the key point, which is that the media scrutiny was less about his adoption of Waffles, and more about what many will perceive to be one rule for officers, another for himself.

He followed: "However, if it helps shine a light on the many dogs in need of a forever home, then that's no bad thing."

"So, I'll use this opportunity to say that if you're thinking about getting a dog, I'd encourage you to consider adopting or fostering through a rescue organisation. Dogs like Waffles have so much love to offer, and by giving them a home you can make a real difference to their lives.

"Waffles is still settling into his new life and, on occasion, comes into the office with me. I'm grateful to council officers for helping to clarify the practical arrangements to ensure Waffles, staff, councillors and visitors are comfortable and safe. So far, he's proved to be a very friendly dog who enjoys meeting people, and he seems to have settled into life at Endeavour House remarkably well on the odd occasion he's here."

The bottom line

There are two ways to read this. One is a council leader who adopted a rescue dog and asked officers to help him do right by it. The other is a council that banned pets for every member of staff, under a policy that, as the council confirms, was never able to apply to him or any other elected member in the first place. The facts of both readings are now on the record. What anyone makes of them is, as it should be, up to them.

Waffles was not available for comment.

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