THE Welsh Liberal Democrat group on Powys County Council has tabled a motion calling on Powys County Council’s (PCC) cabinet to delay the current school closure programme across the county for a year.

The group says this would allow for time for a comprehensive review of the assumptions underpinning the entire schools transformation programme. The group, currently the largest party group on the council, is concerned that the entire consultation process on the transformation strategy was undertaken prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and may be based on outdated assumptions about how closely individual schools are working together within a cluster.

The next full council meeting will be held on March 3, where the Lib Dem motion will be debated.

“We are not today judging the decisions that the cabinet has made,” said Welsh Liberal Democrat group leader and leader of the opposition, Councillor James Gibson-Watt, from Glasbury.

“But as anyone who has undertaken a major business overhaul knows, if there are major changes to your market conditions mid-process then you pause and re-evaluate before moving forward. In our mind the pandemic has been just such a change.”

Llandrindod North councillor Jake Berriman added: “In the recent scrutiny review of the pandemic response we were told that there had been major improvements to cluster working and that schools were now actively self-supporting.

“During the scrutiny of the draft 2022/23 budget we have been told that external support to schools is now needed at a much reduced level. Then, in a recent council members’ briefing, the head of a newly-created all-through school in Powys stated his main regret was that all the primaries in the cluster had not been included in the ‘merger’.

“These are major changes to the ways our schools operate but the idea of an all though cluster school on multiple sites was not considered in any of the current processes.

“That is why we are bringing this motion forward. The current cabinet is on course to expose the new cabinet to be formed after the May elections to two costly judicial reviews and it is our duty as a responsible opposition to protect the public purse if we believe the council is going down an inappropriate route.

“Other members may or may not agree but it is vital that as this is a decision of generational significance at the very least alternative voices and views should be aired and debated.”

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A unanimous cabinet decision on Tuesday to rubber stamp the closure of Llanfihangel Rhydithon Community Primary School in Dolau caused huge controversy – not least because of the amount of objections (amounting to more than 700) put forward by school supporters.

Cllr Hywel Lewis confirmed he had left the council’s Independent group following the decision.

Llanfihangel Rhydithon has 36 pupils, with its closure, set to go ahead in August, said to be saving the council £76,000. From September 1, current pupils will have to attend an alternative school.

Education portfolio holder, Cllr Phyl Davies, said of the cabinet’s decision: “After carefully considering the objections, cabinet has approved the proposal to close Llanfihangel Rhydithon CP School.

“This decision has not been reached lightly. Not only has it been robustly challenged by senior leaders within the council at every step, but it has been developed with the best interest of the learners, who have been at the forefront of our discussions and decision-making.”