3. What representations has the Counsel General made on behalf of the Welsh Government regarding the legal obligations of local authorities in relation to regional education consortia? OAQ52982

To date, I have made no representation on behalf of the Welsh Government regarding the legal obligation of local authorities in relation to regional education consortia.

I'm grateful for that answer. You will no doubt be aware that the leader of Neath Port Talbot council, Councillor Rob Jones, has stated that he has taken the decision to withhold paying £40,000 into the Education through Regional Working regional education consortia because he doesn't believe that his council is gaining value for money from the regional service. Now, I'm not going to enter into the merits of that point, but clearly ERW has faced some challenges over the past year or so. Legally, what is your view in terms of Councillor Jones's seemingly unilateral decision to withhold the funding? Is there a legal basis for that? Is it acceptable for council leaders to refuse to contribute to regional bodies? And isn't there a risk here to the Welsh Government's regional agenda, unless frameworks are clear in these types of situations?

I thank the Member for that question. As he will know, local authorities retain their statutory responsibilities and accountability for school performance, and the regional consortia don't change their principal statutory accountability in relation to that, and that underpins their relationships with other local authorities. Regional consortia are, at the end of the day, if you like, joint ventures between local authorities. They're established under the section 102 joint committees and where there are concerns, as some councils may have in relation to consortia, then those concerns are ones that they can bring to bear in their relationships with other local authorities within the particular consortium.

I know that the Cabinet Secretary for Education's view is, as I think his question assumes, that there have been considerable gains in the regional model of working and that that represents the best way forward for authorities across Wales. Clearly, as his question identifies, there have been some concerns in relation to some consortia. That has been the subject of Estyn inspection and, across the board, there's been significant improvement. I know that the Cabinet Secretary has made clear her expectations of the management of consortia that, as much as possible, they should lower the spend on administration and focus their spending plans on a school-focused approach, wherever that is possible.