Following the last message I had a speedy response from Cllr Thomas who said he would look into the issues I had raised and respond within 20 days. Next I had an email from the compliance manager for the Freedom of Information Unit. One of the issues I had raised was the fact that I had received an email in 2015 in response to a request for school budget deficits at the end o March 2015 that showed Brecon HS had a surplus of £209K when threeks earlier cabinet had been told the school was heading for a deficit of £300K. I challenged the surplus figure as it would have meant half a milion pounds would have to have been removed in that 3 week period from the budget, physically impossible, I challenged the figure and received a revised statement that Brecon HS had a deficit of £209K. The compliance manager was now asking me for the emails I had received as both the FOI Unit and the education department had destroyed their records for that period. Below is the letter I have now sent to Cllr Thomas, although without attachments. If you would like a copy of those please send me an email. On a different note their is a rumour/ compromise suggestion for Gwernyfed HS circulating which is worrying. This is an anxious time for everyone connected with the school as we wait for the Powys decision and if we are not careful we will play into the LA'S hands. The compromise suggestion now circulating proposes that Gwernyfed HS should amalgamate with Brecon HS but with two permanent sites. Why this is dangerous is to do with law. As things stand Powys are proposing a new school which will replace Gwernyfed and are going through a statutory consultation process and any change would require a new statutory consultation. BUT under the current regulations, if Powys went ahead with that alternative plan, once in place Powys could close the Gwernyfed site at any time without consultation because they would only be closing a building and site not a seperate school. Therefore I urge those pushing this idea to step back because you are playing into Powys CC's hands. If you hear any of this don't be fooled by the seductive attempts to win you over. More material going to Cabinet next week and I will keep you the picture. JOHN FITZGERALD JOHN FITZGERALD OBE 5 Twin Oaks Glasbury-on-Wye Powys HR3 5PE 01497 847426 – johnfitz59@hotmail.com Dear Cllr Thomas In relation to my last email and your reponse that you were looking into the matters I raised I thought you out to see the correspondance below and attached. One of the isues I raised was the fact that I received two different documents in relation to Brecon HS's budget surplus/deficit in 2014/5 in response to a Freedom of Information request last year. Last week I received an email from Debra Jarvis, FOI Compliance Manager requesting that I supply FOI emails and attachments to which I refer as neither the unit or Education Department had the correspondance because it had been destroyed after six months. Despite being on holiday I put all the information together, see email below and 3 attachments above and I would urge you to read all those documents and not leave it to your senior officers to sanitise a response for you because it is clear that someone at a senior level in the Education Department sought to mislead me and in doing so your cabinet as well. What a pity you did not read the paper I sent to you last summer about school unauthorised deficits because that information was all there and at that time could have been checked. It is also worth noting that at the end of the 2 emails from the FOI unit there is a series of contradictory statements about what I can do with information with which I had been supplied. On the one hand I could use it for my personal use lncluding news reporting but I could not share the documents supplied as they were the copyright of the author. Strikes me that whoever came up with that does not understand the meaning of the term "Freedom of Information" but then this is Powys we are talking about. This leaves me with a dilema because it is abundantly clear that an offence has been committed under the Freedom of Information legislation but if I refer it to the ICO then it will result in a hefty fine for Powys CC which will have to be paid by council tax payers like me and you are already in difficulties over legal fees. On the other hand the local authority cannot be allowed to just get away with it. I am therefore going to give you and your colleagues one last chance to do the decent thing in relation to the Brecon HS budget debacle and instead of viewing me as a "troublemaker" you see me as someone who understands the detail of the how this terrible situation has arisen and can help you put it right, it willnot be easy, quite painful and will require a complete about turn in relation to your plans. The deficit is already heading for a £1million and just building a new school in Brecon will not solve it. I propose therefore that you, your portfolio holders for education and finance, CEO Jeremy Pattison and your lead officer on education Ian Roberts, meet with me as soon as possible (and before you make decisions about Brecon and Gwernyfed's future)to discuss all the issues I have raised in my earlier email. I am away until 30th of August but could manage the afternoon of 31st August, any time on 1st or 2nd or 3th September. If I have enough notice I would be willing to try to get home earlier for 24 hours because I take this matter very seriously butI am on a canal boat and will have to find a station on the canal system. I have suggested the two particular officers be present because they are part of the problem. One last point, I am going to repeat a statement in my email to Debra Jarvis. I realise you (Debra Jarvis) are not the instigator of this request, what a pity the education department did not have the courage to make the request direct but that is par for the course and my comments above are not directed at you. Neither should the staff member who compiled the figures be held responsible but only the senior manager who issued the original instruction. Put another way I do not want to hear that members of staff who are only following instructions are being victimised because this whole sorry budget deficit story ahould be placed firmly at the door of your senior officers. I look forward to hearing from you. JOHN FITZGERALD