A SPECIALIST free childcare service has been closed ahead of the new school year starting.
Funding for the Flying Start childcare provision at Welsh medium playgroup Cylch Meithrin Dolwerdd in Cwmbran has been pulled by Torfaen Borough Council.
Councillor Richard Clark, the council’s Labour cabinet member responsible for education, approved steps to “decommission” the programme in a confidential, behind closed doors decision.
The council said it was taken “urgently” on Monday, August 24 – due to the need for it be made ahead of September 1 – despite it having scheduled the decision on the council’s publicly available calendar for this coming Wednesday, September 2.
Local Government Act
Councils are entitled to make decisions, and holds parts of meetings, behind closed doors if exemptions in the Local Government Act are met.
However as well as posting the wrong date for the decision, Torfaen had also failed to publish information stating it had considered the public interest when deciding whether it could take the decision confidentially.
The council only updated its website with the correct and required information after being contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
As a result it corrected the date for when the secret decision was taken, and information stating it had applied the exemption as it related to the financial or business affairs of a particular person which can include the council.
Cwmbran St Dials independent member Elizabeth Haynes, whose ward includes the Dolwerdd Cylch Meithrin playgroup, said she would raise the discrepancies in how the decision had been taken.
“I will raise that with legal and the monitoring officer,” said Cllr Haynes: “It is listed as a confidential report and I can only assume there has been an error.”
The council has confirmed as a result of the decision there will be no Flying Start provision at the play group from September.
Welsh Government
Flying Start is a Welsh Government funded programme and provides childcare for two-year olds along with enhanced health visiting, access to parenting support and speech, language and communication development support.
An updated decision statement on the council’s website confirms approval to start decommissioning the service was granted and to initiate the associated contractual, governance and transition arrangements.
The monitoring officer agreed the decision could be urgently approved to allow alternative arrangements to be implemented.