Latest Statement from the Local Authority regarding Nursery provision

New Council Leader Cllr Andrew Morgan has confirmed today at the meeting of the School Budget Forum that no amendments will be made to nursery provision during the next academic year. The Council currently provides one of the most generous levels of nursery provision in Wales. A letter from the education department to all parents, to be issued shortly, will confirm that if the Cabinet does seek to reconsider nursery admission funding in the coming months, the current arrangements will remain in place for the duration of the new academic year September 2014 to July 2015.

County Borough Councillor Andrew Morgan, Leader of the Council said:

"I have made clear previously that nothing is ruled in and that nothing is ruled out in terms of how the Cabinet may respond and proceed following the recent judicial review judgment relating to our decision to amend nursery funding.

"I do however personally feel it is important that we inform parents what to expect in the coming academic year and I therefore have instructed Officers to communicate to parents, governors and schools that the current nursery admission arrangements will remain in place for the next academic year, that is until July 2015.

"The severity of the public spending cuts we face means that as a Council we could potentially have no alternative other than to revisit this decision during the coming months. I am however aware of the uncertainty the current situation is causing and I therefore think it is only reasonable that we make clear the arrangements for the next school year, however we may decide to proceed on this matter in future after September 2015.

"As we have made clear time and time again, we cannot avoid difficult decisions which will unfortunately impact on people and will inevitably be unpopular because of the dramatic reductions in funding we face. We should as a council however seek to bring people with us when we consider these unpalatable choices and that is why I think this reassurance in terms of the next school year is essential. Tough choices cannot be avoided but I want us to be reasonable in our approach to these difficult decisions.

"By stating clearly the arrangements for the 2014/2015 academic year  I hope we can engage constructively with the public around the difficult financial challenges we face and this could mean having to reconsider this area of provision for Rhondda Cynon Taf. This is especially so when many other Local Authorities in Wales have reduced their level of provision to that vastly below that currently offered by this Council.

"The Council is now in receipt of the official transcript of the judicial review judgment which I have considered. Having done so I feel the only course of action we should reasonably take is to rule out any changes that would affect the new academic year to allow us to reflect on this very important and extremely contentious matter.

"I also want to make clear that should Cabinet decide to reconsider this issue we would seek to initiate a fresh consultation with the public before doing so."

"Based on what we currently think our funding levels will be next year, we face a £30M funding gap in the next year alone because of UK government cuts to public spending and we cannot therefore avoid making difficult decisions. As a new Leader I want us to be as reasonable as we can practically be in making these tough choices to ensure we communicate the rational and need for these decisions with the public. I hope by making the position clear in respect of the 2014/2015 academic school year it will ensure a more constructive dialogue with parents in the future."