The leader of the Conservative group within Powys County Council has defended education changes after the Welsh Liberal Democrats accused the group of “descending into chaos” last week.

Aled Davies praised Cllr Phyl Davies’s impact on education since joining the cabinet, highlighting the positive Estyn report in 2021 - two years after a disastrous schools report in 2019.

He said: “In 2019, the Education Inspectors for Wales, Estyn, gave Powys Education a poor report, the latest in a succession of poor reports the Council had received over many years. Real improvement was desperately needed and at that point in 2019 my Cabinet colleague Cllr Phyl Davies took over the reins as Powys CC Cabinet Member for Education and he has made a positive impact.

“Estyn reports of the past pointed to a long history of unwillingness to take the difficult and important decisions to transform the life chances of our young people. If it falls to the Welsh Conservative Group within Powys CC to lead on taking those difficult decisions, so be it, we must for the future of Powys children.

“Estyn returned to Powys in the Autumn term 2021, two years on from the disastrous 2019 visit, and published a highly positive report, that reflected on the significant and strong changes made to improve our support for schools and learners and Phyl Davies is singled out for praise for his leadership.”

The most recent Estyn report, which was released in December last year, confirmed that Powys will no longer be categorised as a local authority causing “significant concern”.

Powys County Council’s Cabinet members were “delighted” by the contents of the inspection follow up monitoring report on the education service which was published at the end of November 2021.

At the time, the Powys Tory leader said it gave Powys confirmation that they are “on the right track” with the schools transforming programme.

Cllr Aled Davies, who is also the finance portfolio holder for Powys, said that while he “appreciates the strong feelings and emotions” related to some of the changes to schools, he will not “turn his back” on difficult challenges.

Cllr Davies said: “We now have curriculum, leadership and ALN support in place, and our schools are collaborating well.  School budgets are now stable, and we are moving towards a fairer distribution of funding. Headteachers comment favourably on the leadership now provided by Powys CC, which is a significant change from the previous decades. 

“Future planning has a clear direction.  We have investment programmes underway, and an excellent strategy for supporting learners with Additional Learning Needs. We know there is still more to do to improve but what we now need is for all of our politicians, whatever their political persuasion, to put their ambitions for children across Powys ahead of their own personal ambitions.

“The former Minister for Education Kirsty Williams was passionate about her vision and actively promoted her ‘National Mission’, which was lauded internationally as a coherent and appropriate vision for an education system for the 21st century. Kirsty’s vision closely chimes with our own Vision here in Powys. This is in sharp contrast to her successor, the current Lib Dem MS and also the Lib Dem Council group who take every opportunity to stymie progress and to stop our investment in schools.

“I fully appreciate the strong feelings and emotions relating so some of our proposals, but I will not turn my back on difficult challenges that others before me have refused accept because of their political opportunism. Welsh Conservatives are ambitious for our children in Powys and we will work with our communities and schools across Powys to make sure that by the age of 19 every young person in Powys is equipped to Live, Learn, Work and Play here in Powys, or wherever in the world they choose to make their way.”

Last week, the Powys Liberal Democrats accused the Powys Conservative council group of defending into chaos over its school closure programme.

The accusation came after the Conservative group lost both cabinet member and councillor Iain McIntosh and Cllr James Evans, who is also the MS for Brecon and Radnorshire.

Both left in shock resignations, with Cllr McIntosh resigning over the Administration’s rural school closures - Mr Evans said that it was a factor which contributed to his resignation along with hoping to focus more on his role at the Senedd.

The group has now has 12 members after losing five in the last year, including Cllr Gwilym Williams and Cllr Les Skilton who both defected over the council tax rise, with the most recent being Cllr Mark Barnes (Newtown Llanllwchaiarn West ward) who resigned last Saturday, January 8.

The third councillor to resign in just one month, Cllr Barnes said he will continue as a non-aligned member now and into the election in May.

Speaking about the latest resignation, Cllr McIntosh - who resigned while live online at a council meeting from outside Cradoc Primary School - said: “I’m really sorry to see Mark leave the Conservative group and I sympathise entirely with his reasons for leaving. This means the group is now down to 12 members, from 20 who were part of the group when I was elected in 2017.

“The Conservative group has achieved a lot since then, but some decisions that have been made, such as council tax increases and school closures, which go against the party’s manifesto, have resulted in far too many group departures.

“It is clearly time the Conservative group had a change of leadership, with someone with an appetite to reverse some of the school closure decisions, and be prepared to keep council tax rises at, or below, the rate of inflation this year and beyond. Following the recent announcement by Welsh Government to finally fund Powys at the level it deserves, with an increase of £18million to this year’s settlement, equating to around 22% council tax increase, there should be no council tax increase this year, at all.”

The group also lost Cllr Claire Mills in May 2020 when she defected to the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party and lost a by-election in Llandrindod North to the Liberal Democrats in 2019.

The Powys Liberal Democrats now have the largest political party on Powys County Council with 14 members.

Commenting on the latest developments Liberal Democrat Group Leader & Leader of the Opposition Cllr James Gibson-Watt said: “The recent developments within Powys Conservatives shows what a divided party they are. Their rural school closures are threatening the hearts of our communities at a time they are urgently trying to rebuild following the pandemic.

“We are in the extraordinary situation where Brecon & Radnorshire Conservatives are now rapidly trying to distance themselves from decisions they have contributed towards while simultaneously the Leader of Powys Conservatives is writing to local papers praising the apparent success of their policies.

“Meanwhile, despite attempts by Cllr McIntosh and James Evans to distance themselves from the poor decision making of the Cabinet and ruling group, their resignations only open up more questions. If they were that unhappy over the direction of the education programme why has it taken them this long to say so and why was the same anger not expressed over the closure of Castle Caereinion? 

"Cllr McIntosh’s suggestion the Cabinet was misled over the ability of small schools to deliver the curriculum also raises serious questions.

“With Powys County Council Cabinet recently ‘pulling’ a proposal to merge three primary schools that might have severely embarrassed Conservative Group Leader Aled Davies in his own ward, it is clear that the Conservative portfolio holder for education Phyl Davies has lost the trust of his own political group and it appears Conservative Group Leader Aled Davies may now be in the same position. 

“Compared to the early days of Powys County Council’s school transformation process and the promise of multi-site cluster schools, it is clear we have now gone back to a position of just closing small schools rather than producing a diverse, environmentally sustainable education network, which would underpin rural communities for the next several generations.

“Making matters worse, at a time when clarity is needed, the proposals before us are in disarray.

“While the local Conservative Party and Independent Group tear themselves apart over this failed schools closure programme and their 26 per cent council tax rise, the Welsh Liberal Democrat group stand united as the largest opposition group holding this administration to account and sticking up for our communities who are taken for granted by the Conservatives and Independent Group time and time again.”

Cllr Phyl Davies was also approached for a comment.