Dafydd Gibbard, CEO of cyngor Gwynedd has authored the council's 'Response Plan to the Our Bravery Brought Justice Report'. He writes -
The Committee is asked to scrutinise the revamped Response Plan before it is submitted to Cabinet for formal adoption.
This January, his report has gone before the Care scrutiny committee, the Education/Economy scrutiny committee and the Governance and Audit committee. His report can be found here -
https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g5668/Public%20reports%20pack%2013th-Jan-2026%2010.30%20Care%20Scrutiny%20Committee.pdf?T=10
The 'extended' Child Practice Review, by Jan Pickles, looked at events from 2017.
From a BBC article dated April, 2025 –
She looked at 2019 because, during Foden’s
trial, the council’s former head of education Garem Jackson said that
was when he made a senior safeguarding officer aware of concerns about
Foden’s “close relationship” with some teen girls.
He said he was advised there was no need for a formal investigation as no official complaint had been made.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly2njvjwzko
So who advised Jackson?
In this respect, Jan Pickles is vague...
From page 13 of her review -
LA1 Head C&FS requested a meeting on a ‘Mater Diogelu Brys- Cyfrinachol’ (Urgent
Safeguarding matter - Confidential) via email to LA1 C&FS Senior Manager LADO.
On 15 April 2019 a meeting of four senior LA1 officers from LA1 Ed, LA1 C&FS and LA1 Legal departments was held to consider the information reported by Core SMT 1 to LA1 Head of Education 1.
No formal minutes were made of this meeting however the Reviewers have seen transcripts of handwritten notes taken contemporaneously by two attendees.
Core SMT 1 was not invited to the meeting to give further nformation.
The meeting was deemed not to be a child protection meeting and was instead regarded as being for the consideration of a ‘professional issue’.
So a senior officer from the legal department was present...
Was this the monitoring officer?
Did any senior officer apart from Jackson give evidence at Neil Foden's trial?
Did the chair and vice chair of the school governors, both serving police officers, give evidence?
If not - why not..?
The Woods report will give more detail of the safeguarding failures.
After HR completes it's investigations will the report be published?
There were calls from councillors for the report to be released, even as an exempted document, this was flatly refused by the monitoring officer. Gibbard informed that the HR investigations had already cost £30,000...
The Jan Pickles review can be found here -
https://www.northwalessafeguardingboard.wales/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/30.10.25-FINAL-ENGLISH-CPR-REPORT-_.pdf
A reminder that the children abused by Foden were receiving 'care' from the council...
Did Social workers of the 16+ team and the Youth Justice Service also fail the children?
Both departments are to have their recent work scrutinised at a care scrutiny committee on the 29th, January.
In other news, Nia Jeffreys, the leader of the council, challenged the minutes of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. She explained that she was against excluding the public and press from a previous meeting and had asked that her vote against be recorded.
The council leader's vote was not recorded...
Something is very wrong within Gwynedd council...
