Dear All Next week there is a special county council to discuss whether or not it should remove the sole responsibility for decision making by the cabinet in relation to education. This is the only example in the Powys constitution whereby county councillors CANNOT have a say in decision making. In the run up to the meeting we have sent a couple of issues from the campaign teams consultation response papers and posed some questions to county councillors (excluding cabinet members with whom we cannot communicate because they have outsourced the collation of responses to Opinion Research Services). We have sent 2 emails as follows: 1. (7 June) At the recent briefing for the county council by officers regarding schools reorganisation process - including Brecon and Gwernyfed - you were told that the negotiations with Welsh Government about funding for the new build in Brecon were positive and were focusing on some minor matters which would be re-considered towards the end of April. The Gwernyfed campaign team, using Freedom of Information Requests, obtained an email from the Welsh Government to Powys CC confirming that the local authority did not seem to understand how to write an Outline Business Case (OBC)or the difference between an OBC and a SOC. In addition WG noted a £12.5 million shortfall in the funding request and questioned validity of NPTC financing plans. Hardly minor issues and losing £12.5 million is a very serious flaw. This is all being done in your name councillor, are you happy about this? 2. (7 June)The Gwernyfed Campaign Team analysed the Draft Community Impact Assessment circulated as part of the consultation documents and found 18 potential breaches of the local authority's statutory obligations relating to a) Statutory Schools Organisation Code; b) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and c) Wellbeing and Future Generations (Wales) 2016. This is all being done in your name councillor, are you happy about this? Whilst councillors cannot intervene in matters specifically relating to education under the current constitution, they can and should intervene in matters that relate to seriously flawed management practices including finance or a complete failure to meet the local authority's statutory obligations. Indeed to not act makes councillors complicit as ultimately they are responsible for every decision made. 3. (9 June) - A further update following my email of 7 June: Welsh Government confirmed last Monday they still do not have an OBC from Powys in relation to the rebuild in Brecon (contrary to what is stated in the Gwernyfed consultation document that it was to be submitted in April with a decision by WG on 24 April). Welsh Government also confirmed that NPTC (part of the new campus rebuild in Brecon) now say they want 100% funding from WG 21st Century Schools, claiming a precedent was set with WG's 100% funding of Merthyr College. Weslh Government now tell us 21st Century schools is a match fund - they will not provide 100%. Merthyr was funded under a different transitional fund and, in any case, was not 100% funded. In other words - Powys are on the cusp of closing the schools, but no one seems to know where the money is coming from for the new one or for the new sixth form college. This is really gross incompetence and the question is: how much does the cabinet know or how much do the officers know and have the latter shared what they know with the cabinet? If you feel you can lobby your councillor to add to the pressure please do, even if you just cut and paste this statement and email it. Stay tuned. JOHN FITZGERALD