No consultation meetings have taken place in the area into Welsh in education since Ministers approved a Welsh Education Forum strategy, a Powys county councillor has found.
Cllr Elwyn Vaughan said the lack of meetings in the area or anywhere else in Powys "makes a mockery of commitment to Welsh education."
The Welsh Education Forum strategy was approved by Welsh Government Ministers 12 months ago.
In a written question to Powys County Council education portfolio holder, Cllr Myfanwy Alexander the Cllr Vaughan said: “How many meetings of the Welsh Education Forum, a partnership with schools and external organisations, and which forms an integral part for the delivery of the current WESP (Welsh Education Strategic Partnership) as approved by Welsh Government Ministers have been held since its approval by Ministers and Powys Cabinet?
In response, Cllr Alexander said: “The Council’s current Welsh in Education Strategic Plan for 2017-20 was approved by the Welsh Government in March 2018. Due to lack of capacity to facilitate meetings, no meetings of the old Forum have been held since the plan’s approval.
"We are now planning to establish a new Forum to enable all partner organisations to coordinate their efforts in support of delivery of the approved Welsh in Education Strategic Plan.”
Cllr Vaughan added: “Bearing in mind that this is a three-year strategy and that 12 months has already gone without a single meeting of the forum that should be driving this work forward, it does beg the question the real commitment towards the delivery of this work.
“It’s all well and good talking a good talk, but it’s through actions the Council will be judged, and traditionally Powys has been famous for its slow pace and lack of vision in relation to Welsh education, it is imperative therefore that we have this forum established and a firm commitment to a meeting in the near future.”
Photo: Cllr Elwyn Vaughan
