‘Our Bravery Brought Justice’ Delayed Yet Again - Neil Foden Cyngor Gwynedd...

The Gwynedd Child Practice Review into paedophile headteacher Neil Foden, first due in early Spring, then late Spring, then September has been delayed yet again - 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp98739vz49o

‘Our Bravery Brought Justice' review led by Jan Pickles, appears to have been usurped by the North Wales Safeguarding Board, which released a statement on its website - 

The North Wales Safeguarding Board have made the decision to delay the publication of the Gwynedd Child Practice Review this month as it considers its legal obligations and information sharing further.
https://www.northwalessafeguardingboard.wales/gwynedd-child-practice-review/

The NWSB is made up of senior officers from various organisations including local councils, North Wales Police, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and the Probation service.
https://www.northwalessafeguardingboard.wales/nwsab-members/

Cyngor Gwynedd's Corporate Director and their Head of Adults SS sit on the board.

There is considerable anger with the delay and, for many, it shows little thought for the survivors and their families, more an exercise in protecting reputations? 

Class actions against the council...
In other news, the Neil Foden case is still deemed a risk to the council by Gwynedd's Governance and Audit committee held on the 11th September. Article 4 was also highlighted as a risk but no mention of Canolfan Brynffynnon. Is that case also considered a risk?

Gwynedd's head of Finance also presented the draft accounts to the committee. They show money in reserves to be £592 million and usable reserves of £137 million...

Governance and Audit is the most important committee of a council and it is a surprise that cyngor Gwynedd do not webcast the meeting. The meetings, held over Zoom, are recorded but not available for later viewing by councillors nor the public. Not one member asked about the turmoil within the children's SS department, with senior officers still 'absent from work'.

Due to the make up of the G&A committee, not all members may be privy to the disclosures to councillors so it was disappointing that the Care Scrutiny committee, held on the 25th September, did not ask the interim head of children services, Aled Gibbard, if services were being affected. Hasn't the director of SS raised concerns..?

The agenda pack and SS Annual Complaints Handling reports can be found here - 
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g5530/Public%20reports%20pack%2025th-Sep-2025%2010.00%20Care%20Scrutiny%20Committee.pdf?T=10

The report mirrors last years report, presented by the senior safeguarding officer, Dafydd Paul. It gives little information on the nature of the complaints and, as before, tries to divert attention by attacking vexatious customers. A reminder that the way senior officers report is not always accurate... 

Something is very wrong within Gwynedd council... 

 

 

 

Criteria For Derwen - Cyngor Gwynedd Council's Service For Disabled Children...

The admission by one of cyngor Gwynedd's interim heads of the children and families department that their reporting is not 'completely accurate' comes as no surprise. There have been questions to the integrity of the council's reports going back many years...

One early example is the Annual Report on the handling of complaints by Adult, Health and Well-being Department and the Children and Family Support Department for 2015-2016, written by the former workforce support manager. 
That report can be found here - 
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/documents/s7887/Adroddiad%20Blynyddol%202015-16%20Sterfynol.pdf

The officer had personally led at least one of the investigations highlighted in her report which has been publicly called out as a whitewash. 

A Stage 2 complaint was raised. The investigator asked the customer care/complaint officers who the senior complaints manager was? Nobody knew...
Dafydd Paul, the council's senior safeguarding officer, then became active in the role from 2018. 

One recommendation from the Lost In Care report states - Every social services authority should be required to appoint an appropriately qualified or experienced children's complaints officer.

Since then, concerns to the integrity of the SS complaints handling reports have been raised with the council's democratic service, scrutiny committees, councillors and even cabinet members - all ignored. 
A question to possible data manipulation has also been ignored...

Cyngor Gwynedd has also had issues with completing recommendations for improvement and has been caught misleading government agencies in the past. A reminder that an investigation by the agencies will cease if a local authority accepts the recommendations...

Councillor Gwynfor Owen has recently raised questions of the criteria used to access Derwen, Gwynedd's service for disabled children. It is presumed the councillor was not content with the officer's response. Nor should he be. The 'criteria' has been called out as unlawful and discriminatory in the past. 

Pre pandemic, the PSOW made recommendations - agreed to by the council that - 
70. The Council should review its Derwen policy to ensure its criteria aligns with the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and the Equality Act 2010’s definition of ‘disability’, and ensure staff are informed about any changes (within three months). 

In 2020, the Ombudsman wrote of its expectations of the council re its Derwen policy -

In spite of the further (and immediate) reviews supposedly undertaken by cyngor Gwynedd, the Hugh Morgan OBE report also recommends  - 

 

The Hugh Morgan report begins -
 

His full report can be found here - 
https://gwyneddsfailingcouncil.blogspot.com/2021/04/finally-gwynedd-councils-autism-report.html 

Hugh Morgan, also recommends staff training in ASD, but according to information given to the PSOW by Gwynedd council this training has already been completed as a recommendation from a previous investigation. 

The Ombudsman for Wales recommendations from an investigation in 2018 include - 

Have councillors had sight of any of the various reviews mentioned?

The Ombudsman's office has been provided clear evidence of wrong doing by senior officers - not investigated. It has also apologised for the failings of one of its officers and the former PSOW had to personally apologise to one family for failings in another investigation after an independent review.

The former children's commissioner, Sally Holland, also did not properly engage when concerns with children's social workers were raised with her office, in 2016. However, her office did comment on the council's criteria -
The Commissioner and our policy officers are aware of the criteria issue and this information will inform their ongoing work with Welsh Government. 

Professor Holland is now chair of Gwynedd's response plan programme board set up after the sexual abuse of children by Neil Foden and the failings of senior officers to hold him to account. Holland recently updated the council's cabinet members and that webcast can be found here - 
https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/999635

In other news, the ICO has concluded a review into the council's handling of FOI requests. Gwynedd council are stating that it has been ranked 'reasonable'. Some FOI requestors would disagree. Has any councillor sighted the review from the ICO?

Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...