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Question from: County Councillor Jackie Charlton Subject: Consultations for school closures [follow up question]
Question:
I asked this question a few weeks ago:- “Having seen a response to Cllr John Morris’ question regarding consultation for closures during the pandemic, can you describe how learners have been involved in the consultation?”
And this was the response:- Response by the Portfolio Holder: “During any school reorganisation proposal, an age-appropriate consultation document is prepared and distributed to all affected pupils, and consultation meetings are also held with pupils.”
This not only fails to answer the question originally asked but has highlighted the real issue of flawed consultation on such an important matter for young families across Powys. Children and teachers could not be engaged in the consultation when schools were shut for the pandemic. Nothing in the response answers the question about what alternatives were put in place, was this appropriate and did it follow the Welsh Government guidelines.
Can the portfolio holder please answer those questions?
Minutes: Response by the Portfolio Holder:
The authority has taken account of the non-statutory guidance from the Welsh Government since its publication. These includes extending consultation periods, creating a video that provides an overview of the proposal and details of how people can respond, publicising the proposal on posters and how people can respond, including how to obtain hard copies of documents. A notice has also gone in the local press advising of the consultations. Evidence from recent consultations suggests that the public are engaging fully with the consultation process.
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