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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED (a) 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. (b) 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 but not limited to: language preference; learning outcomes; quality of facilities; transport provision; ALN provision, etc.
The following declarations of interest were made: Item 3 - Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) Councillor Tessa Hodgson declared a personal interest by virtue of having two close family members who work in education in Pembrokeshire. Councillor Michelle Bateman declared a personal interest by virtue of having a family member who works in a school.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (a) 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. (b) 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 but not limited to: language preference; learning outcomes; quality of facilities; transport provision; ALN provision, etc.
The Leader introduced the report of the Director of Education and stated that the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) had been referred back to Cabinet, following a call-in from Members of the Independent Group. He then outlined the decisions from the Cabinet meeting on 28 April 2025 that were subsequently called-in, as well as the Members who had submitted the call-in. He also referred to the Extraordinary meeting of the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee which had taken place on 14 May 2025, where the call-in was discussed and the following recommendations were made, with seven votes for and five against: That the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP) be referred back to Cabinet for them to consider withdrawing their amendment. He then highlighted that the reason for the referral back to Cabinet was due to the fact that the Committee had concerns regarding the legalities around the amended recommendation and the implications that the school survey could have on the Welsh language. The Leader also wished to note that Councillor Huw Murphy had made representations to the Welsh Language Commissioner over the resolutions Cabinet had made at its 28 April meeting, and whilst Councillor Murphy had not shared his submission to the Commissioner with the Leader and Cabinet Members, the letter received from the Commissioner was attached as Appendix D to the report. He added that he would respond directly to the points raised in the Commissioner's letter, following the outcome of the meeting. Councillor Paul Miller, the Deputy Leader, who had proposed the Amendment at the 28 April Cabinet meeting, believed that Councillor Murphy’s motivation for the call-in sought to create division in Pembrokeshire in an aim to suggest that the Administration was ‘anti-Welsh’, which Councillor Miller stated was not the case. He wished to highlight that the Authority, under the current Administration, had delivered the highest percentage of growth in Welsh medium education in Wales. He then wished to further explain his Amendment by stating that he understood the concerns expressed in relation to the existing motion, in terms of itbeing very specific in respect of looking at the choices of parents and pupils opting for a Welsh language education. He wished to add that he was also interested in the choices made by parents choosing an English medium school. He explained that as the Authority was undertaking a significant programme of school modernisation, it was important that the best possible data and information was available in order to make difficult and contentious decisions. Councillor Miller then Moved the following: 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 but not limited to: language preference; learning outcomes; quality of facilities; transport provision; ALN provision, etc. Seconded by Councillor Tessa Hodgson. Councillor Hodgson stated her support for the amended wording as it broadened the criteria of the information that could be gathered, which would be much more useful. She added that it also considered the concerns that were raised at the Schools and Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, around the narrowness of the original Recommendation. She stated that at that meeting, Councillor David Howlett referred to the importance of information and how it can make better informed decisions, and that Councillor Huw Murphy referred to fairness and equality. She believed that the proposed Recommendation would address those concerns. Councillor Miller highlighted the need to also reconfirm the original resolution. Councillor Miller then Moved the following; 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. Seconded by Councillor Tessa Hodgson. The Director of Education then wished to highlight a few matters in relation to the WESP regulations and admissions regulations, as he had been seeking some information from Welsh Government in regards to supporting the Directorate. He explained that the WESP was compliant with regulations, and highlighted that the regulations first came about in 2013 with an assessing demand aspect within those regulations. He stated that those regulations were replaced in 2019 in order to make provisions for the Local Authority to prepare a ten-year plan, and that the purpose of the regulations was to improve opportunities for Local Authorities to plan for Welsh medium education, in order to support the current and future expectation for growth in that area. He stated that the regulation guidance also outlined the national ambition for the Welsh language and for promotion of standards under the Welsh Language Standards Act and Regulations 2015. In regards to school admissions, the Director of Education explained that the Welsh Government was said to have responded to a query regarding advice on admissions and referred to the School Admissions Code, which made it clear that the Local Authority should not seek additional information on applications for admissions on matters which are not directly relevant to their published over subscription criteria (paragraph 3.10 of the School Admissions Code). He added that the code also outlined the need to consider this aspect in coming to any decisions on what data was captured as part of admissions applications. Councillor Jacob Williams stated his support for the proposed Amendment and hoped that if the resolution was to be implemented, that it would be explored fully by Officers. He also believed that the Authority had no intention of going against the law. He suggested that the letter from the Commissioner was premature, as all that was being asked of Officers was the viability of collecting the data. He stated that if the resolution was carried, the matter would be explored fully in order to provide a definitive picture. Councillor Miller appreciated the update from the Director of Education and expected a report to come back to Cabinet in due course outlining what could be done on the matter, if the amended wording was passed. The Leader believed that what was being asked of the Director of Education was not unreasonable and that the Authority would not want to do anything illegal, and accepted the reference to the School Admissions Code by the Director of Education. He then echoed the comments made by Councillor Miller and stated that the matter had been escalated in regards to the Cabinet being perceived as anti-Welsh or anti-Welsh language, which he assured was not the case. He highlighted that the current and previous Administrations were heavily invested in Welsh language provision, and referred to the increase in provision in Pembrokeshire being the highest in Wales. He wished to add that Cabinet was not against Welsh language provision in any way, and had simply asked for more data on such provision in relation to the WESP. Councillor Williams stated that he was glad that the letter from the Commissioner was included in the Agenda pack, and suggested that if specific legal areas had been identified in which the previous resolution could have caused legal issues, then that could have been discussed in more detail during the meeting, but such matters had not been outlined in the letter. He believed that the letter was not impartial. The vote, undertaken by way of a roll call, was carried. The votes were recorded as follows: For the Motion: Councillors Jon Harvey, Paul Miller, Michelle Bateman, Tessa Hodgson, Marc Tierney and Jacob Williams [6] There were no votes against or abstentions. RESOLVED (a) 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. (b) 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 but not limited to: language preference; learning outcomes; quality of facilities; transport provision; ALN provision, etc.
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