Deny Delay Deflect - Cyngor Gwynedd Council...

Sally Holland, former children's commissioner, spoke at the full cabinet meeting of cyngor Gwynedd held on the 11th November, 2025. As the chair of the council's response board, set up after the abuse of children by Neil Foden, Holland presented the - 
QUARTERLY REPORT TO CABINET: RESPONSE PLAN PROGRAMME BOARD
which can be found here -  
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=46340

  

The webcast of the cabinet meeting can be viewed here - 
https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/1034943

Holland states the overarching objectives of the board are - 
Acknowledge, Apologise, Support, Establish, Learn, Improve and be Accountable.
So who are the four cabinet members providing accountability to the public...?

Dewi Jones, the cabinet member for education, is surely one of the four.
When will he make a statement on the failings of the governing body at Ysgol Friars? 
First and foremost, Neil Foden was accountable to the school governors.

From 2018, Pickles highlights - Child A reports concern re Foden’s relationship with Child C. Education speaknto Foden. Reported to LA1 C&FS and NWP.

The chair and vice chair of governors were NWP officers - Essie Ahari and Keith Horton.

The former head of education, Garem Jackson, after being contacted by a whistleblower met with senior officers of the children's deparment. Pickles writes - 
The meeting was deemed not to be a child protection meeting and was instead regarded as being for the consideration of a ‘professional issue.
ie senior officers appeared to be more concerned for Foden's reputation...

The former director of SS, Morwena Edwards was not a social worker, her background was finance, and she would have relied heavily on the advice of the now absent from work, Marian Parry Hughes and Dafydd Paul, senior safeguarding and quality officer.
Cyngor Gwynedd's legal team advised the officers...

Jan Pickles conducted an 'Extended' Child Practice Review, which means that some of the children Neil Foden abused were 'in care' at the time of the abuse or the preceding 6 months.
Were any of the children in foster care?
One child was living in a hostel. The hostel manager raised concerns in 2018.

Anglesey council (LA2) also raised concerns  - 
LA2 informed LA1 C&FS Senior Manager LADO that had Foden been a professional working in LA2, a meeting would have been convened under Part 4 of the AWCPP 2008.

The NSPCC are also scathing about Gwynedd's LADO -
From the Pickles review - my highlight...

At this time, Dilwyn Morgan, was cabinet member for children and family.
His tenure is best remembered for the Ombudsman for Wales reports highlighting serious concerns and failings within the children's SS, including social workers faking assessments on children.
Will Morgan be giving a statement of what he knew...?

It was a busy time for the SS department as the PSOW also found serious failings within the adult's department. The cabinet member with responsibility for the department was then Dafydd Meurig.
Treatment of one adult in Gwynedd's care was so bad it made the Ombudsman's Equality & Human Rights Casebook-2019/20

https://www.ombudsman.wales/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/104483-Equality-and-Human-Rights-Casebook_Eng_v03.pdf

Neil Foden was an abusive bully, who used inadequate 'policies and procedures' to protect himself from investigation and censure. Complaints were ignored or dealt with badly. If the complaint was serious enough then the 'vexatious complainant' rule could be used to shut the complaint down.

Page 79 of the Pickles review -  

 

The Pickles review can be found here -
 https://www.northwalessafeguardingboard.wales/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/30.10.25-FINAL-ENGLISH-CPR-REPORT-_.pdf

Foden smeared those who challenged him and reversed blame onto the victim - Darvo.
Blame the children - blame the parents - deny delay deflect.

In other news, the Governance and Audit committee were made aware of concerns within the county's care homes. Little information given and little action taken despite a lay member's grave concerns. 
Also 'bedblocking' has been a major issue for years now with the adult SS coming in for criticism...

Internal audits still show issues with staff training and breakfast clubs in particular -

 

The reports can be found in the agenda pack - 
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g5460/Public%20reports%20pack%2009th-Oct-2025%2010.00%20Governance%20and%20Audit%20Committee.pdf?T=10

Something is very wrong within Gwynedd council... 

 

 

 

 

Publish The Woods Report - Cyngor Gwynedd Council...

The Extended Child Practice Review, by Jan Pickles, into Neil Foden and his abuse of children in Gwynedd has finally been published.

An 'extended' CPR is undertaken when children were receiving care from the council at the time of the abuse. This care will presumably involve social workers of the children's SS, the 16+ team, the fostering team and perhaps youth justice - and no-one noticed...?

"We're employed to do a job, and that job is keeping children safe. In this case, Ysgol Friars failed, the Education Department failed, Children's Services failed, the local authority failed."
Jan Pickles OBE
https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2025-11-05/appalling-failure-allowed-paedophile-headteacher-to-run-reign-of-terror

Officials of the teachers union, NASUWT, are also scathing - 
“The report is right to highlight the courage of the child victims who exposed the criminal activities of Neil Foden in his role as the leading headteacher in Gwynedd Local Authority. Their courage stands in marked contrast to the total lack of moral courage by senior officials in the local authority.
Another - 
Processes and procedures must be followed objectively, dispassionately and fairly. There must be Independence and accountability. This has not happened in Gwynedd.” 
https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/article-listing/nasuwt-responds-foden-case-child-practice-review.html

What say local members of Unison and Unite within the cooncil? 
A public inquiry is needed...

In her review, Jan Pickles notes  - 


Anglesey council is LA2 Children's Services.
The LA1 C&FS is Gwynedd children & family department.
Jan Pickles review can be found in full here - 
https://www.northwalessafeguardingboard.wales/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/30.10.25-FINAL-ENGLISH-CPR-REPORT-_.pdf

The most senior officers with responsibility for safeguarding children in 2019 were the former director of SS, Morwena Edwards, the head of children and family department, Marian Parry Hughes and the senior safeguarding and quality officer/LADO, Dafydd Paul. 

The barrister, Genevieve Woods, was commissioned to investigate the actions of senior officers re Neil Foden in 2019. Her report should give more detail of the missed opportunities and exactly when cyngor Gwynedd's legal team became involved.
When will the Woods report be released..?

In other news, councillors are to receive a payrise...
The Democracy Services Committee held on the 4th, November discussed - 

and...

The full agenda pack can be found here -
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g5641/Public%20reports%20pack%2004th-Nov-2025%2010.00%20Democracy%20Services%20Committee.pdf?T=10 

A report from Mari Edwards, Learning and Development Manager updated the committee on training for councillors. The report is not good -

One member became so incensed that councillors were not attending training, he threatened to go to the press...

The committee is not webcast and so not available for later viewing by councillors or the public. 

A report authored by Vera Jones, Democracy and Language Manager, asks members to consider extending the number of council meetings broadcast. This stems from a Welsh Government consultation published in July- 
https://www.gov.wales/consultation-extending-duty-local-authorities-broadcast-meetings-html

On the 7th November,  the North Wales CJC Economic Well-being Sub-committee held a meeting to discuss the North Wales Growth Deal Performance and Risk report for the second quarter - 
 https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/s46336/North%20Wales%20Growth%20Deal%20-%20Quarter%202%20Performance%20and%20Risk%20Report.pdf

This meeting was then closed to the press and public. 

Later that day, the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee held a meeting to discuss the -
FLINTSHIRE AND WREXHAM INVESTMENT ZONE

This meeting also excluded the press and public...
The report can be found here - 
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g5644/Public%20reports%20pack%2007th-Nov-2025%2012.00%20North%20Wales%20Corporate%20Joint%20Committee.pdf?T=10

Something is very wrong within Gwynedd council...

 

'Motivated Intruder' - Cyngor Gwynedd Council

Cyngor Gwynedd Education and Economy Scrutiny committee investigation report into safeguarding in schools has been delayed after they forgot to include the voices of the children...

The Woods report has been sat on since March...

Cyngor Gwynedd also appear to be shutting down FOI requests in relation to Neil Foden.
This request was submitted in May, 2024 - 

The council responded with -  You should therefore receive the information you have requested, subject to the application of any exemptions permitted under the Act, by 20/06/2024...

In January, 2025, after an internal review, the monitoring officer, Iwan G D Evans, came back with -

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/neil_foden

Less than 5 'reports' into Neil Foden since 2018/19...
Failing to answer properly and shutting down the rest of the FOI, Evans also introduced the phrase 'motivated intruder' into the dialogue. 

Another example -
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/neil_foden_3

Corporate services, initially refused the request but then had to reopen the case with - 
Following our response to you on the 17th July 2025, it has come to our attention that we failed to include our complaints procedure. 
Please find below our revised response and apologise for this error.

This request was also refused by the monitoring officer after he conducted an internal review.

Moving on to another FOI - also refused by corporate services -
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/what_concerns_were_logged_by_tea

And yet another FOI request regarding Neil Foden -
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/neil_foden_2
And yet another internal review - this time shut down by the head of legal services.

In refusing these requests, cyngor Gwynedd's senior officers make much of the privacy/personal data of the individual, ignoring the fact that senior officers have a much broader public impact (position of trust, policy/decision making, salary/pension).
A reminder that law favours disclosure...

On the 27th, October, 2025, ITV published an article - 
Two men arrested following paedophile headteacher investigation in Wales
Police looking into lines of enquiry related to convicted paedophile headteacher Neil Foden have confirmed that two men were arrested earlier this year.
North Wales Police said both men remain under investigation.It added the arrests followed allegations of “non-recent abuse” by “conducting inappropriate relationships”.
https://www.itv.com/news/2025-10-27/two-men-arrested-following-paedophile-headteacher-investigation-in-wales 

The timing of this release is odd, considering the arrests were made earlier in the year..

In other news - 
Andrew Grove & Co Solicitors is now appealing for former pupils of Gellilydan School in Blaenau Ffestiniog and Thomas Ellis School near Holyhead, or anyone else who can shed any light on this case, to get in touch.

“It is unbelievable that this man, who went to prison for sexually abusing children where he was a teacher, was allowed to teach again when he came out of prison. 
“It is equally unbelievable that after 11 children from Gellilydan School made allegations of sexual abuse this was not sent to Crown Court for trial but thrown out by the Magistrates’ Court where significant figures were his friends, or at least well known to him.

Contact details for those with information can be found in the link - 
https://www.andrewgroveandco.com/post/serious-miscarriages-of-justice-in-north-wales

Tanygrisiau school...
From The Times, dated 15th, April 1986 - 

There is little information on this case and google returns 'Some results may have been removed under data protection law in Europe' when searching for the headmaster.

In 2017, cyngor Gwynedd received a FOI request in relation to the headmaster Mr Ceryl Wyn Davies
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/complaints_made_by_parents

The request was refused citing personal data and though an internal review was asked of the officer's decision, the internal review was never answered.

This trial, in 1986, would have taken place around the same time that Gwynedd council suspended Alison Taylor, the social worker who blew the whistle on the abuse of children in the care of local authorities...

Taylor and investigators were hindered by what was called 'a cult of silence'.
For some older people, the present events appear a re-run of the past... 

 If not further delayed, the Jan Pickles review will now be published on the 4th, November. 
A public inquiry into Neil Foden and cyngor Gwynedd's internal processes is needed.

Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...