No Confidence Call

A special Pembrokeshire council meeting which includes a motion of no confidence in its deputy leader is to take place next week.

The notice of a motion of no confidence call, by Cllr Huw Murphy, leader of the Independent Group, has been backed by fellow members.

It is centrally due to concerns by Cllr Murphy about Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller’s comments made during an April Cabinet debate on The Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP), which led to a successful ‘call-in’ on that Cabinet decision by Cllr Murphy.

In a heated discussion at a scrutiny committee prior to the matter going back to a special May Cabinet meeting, Cllr Murphy claimed Cllr Miller’s comments showed  “a bias against the provision of Welsh Language education”.

WESP is a ten-year plan, mandatory for all local authorities in Wales, that outlines how Welsh medium education will be developed within the authority.

The WESP aims to increase the proportion of school year groups taught through the medium of Welsh and focuses on Year 1 learners. The plans also aim to contribute to the Welsh Government’s goal of having 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, as part of the “Cymraeg 2050” initiative.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s schools and learning overview and scrutiny committee met on May 14 to consider the ‘call-in’, specifically an amendment by Cllr Miller to its previous recommendation to note a report.

The scrutiny committee voted for Cabinet to consider removing an amendment: “That the Director of Education be tasked with exploring how demand for Welsh language can be better captured.

“In particular this work should focus on disaggregating demand for Welsh Medium Education from other school choice considerations such as perceptions of learning outcomes, facility quality etc,” replacing it with: “That the progress being made against the objectives set out in the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, and Welsh Government’s feedback to the Council’s 2023/24 Annual Report, be noted.”

Cllr Murphy’s lengthy ‘call-in’ said: “Some comments made by Cabinet appeared to display a degree of bias against the provision of Welsh Language education.”

He quoted Cllr Miller from that meeting, in relation to Welsh medium Ysgol Caer Ellen: “…basically we’ve opened Caer Ellen and loads of people went there and therefore by definition they must want a Welsh Language education.

“I’m not sure how true that is, might be partly true, might be completely true but also it might not be. I know quite a few parents in that particular area obviously given my constituency in Neyland West and all of them that I know who send their children to Caer Ellen honestly couldn’t give a toss whether it was Welsh or English, they’re looking for a good school and so what they’ve got is a good school in Caer Ellen, great facilities, and so they’re sending their kids there.”

Cllr Murphy went on to say: “Councillor Miller then continues and commented ‘honestly the fact its Welsh medium has got nothing to do with anything so how do we differentiate those looking for a good school’ and re-asserts this point where it appears that Cllr Miller by his comments does not think parents select Caer Ellen on the basis of providing Welsh education, rather that it’s a ‘good school’ and requests data be collected to ascertain from parents why they choose Welsh Language education.”

Cllr Murphy also raised concerns that some members of the Cabinet “had little idea of the workings” of Fforwm Cymraeg, a committee which examines in greater detail the provision of Welsh language education in Pembrokeshire, and any data collection “would be a clear indication that some Cabinet members do not believe parental choice in electing Welsh Language education”.

At the May 14 meeting, Cllr Murphy said he had reported the matter to the Welsh Language Commissioner, who had shared his concerns, and was “aghast what Pembrokeshire County Council recommended.”

Cllr Miller responded saying there was no evidence members displayed a limited knowledge of WESP, and allegations that his comments displayed a degree of bias were “entirely without merit,” standing by his words.

“It must be the case it is at least possible some parents are choosing Welsh medium schools other than because of the medium of Welsh. It’s currently unknown; surely it’s right the council seeks to understand the impact of other forces.”

He said Cllr Murphy was “trying to make something out of nothing,” in “a naked attempt to create outrage, trying to paint some in this council as anti-Welsh,” adding: “Cllr Murphy should be deeply ashamed of his actions over the last week in trying to create artificial division in the county of Pembrokeshire.”

Cllr Murphy’s call succeeded by seven votes to five, with the matter going to a May 21 extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet.

That May 21 meeting led to the council issuing a statement: “Following Cabinet in April it became clear that there were some concerns about the council potentially capturing information on the school choices made only by those parents choosing a Welsh Medium Education.

“To allay those concerns, the Cabinet today determined to explore collecting the information on the school choices made by all parents, resolving as follows: That the Director of Education be tasked with exploring how the demand for school places can be better captured.

“In particular this work should focus on understanding the weight parents give to the different choice considerations, including: language preference; learning outcomes; quality of facilities; transport provision; ALN provision, etc.

“As the council continues to consider proposals to modernise the school estate we believe it’s important we have the best possible information available to ensure we make informed decisions in the best interests of pupils and parents.”

Following the lodging of a no-confidence call, a Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman has now said: “Following a formal request submitted to the Presiding Member, an Extraordinary Meeting of Council will take place on Monday June 2 at 1pm.

“The purpose of the meeting will be to consider a Notice of Motion of no confidence in the Deputy Leader of Council.

“The agenda will be published in due course.”