Plan approved in response to Neil Foden's crimes

Cyngor Gwynedd’s Cabinet has unanimously supported a plan that sets out the range of procedures and arrangements which are underway with the goal of identifying all the lessons to be learnt following Neil Foden's crimes.

 

The Plan has six main aims:

 

• Acknowledge openly and publicly that such offences should never have happened, and that no child should suffer such experiences.
• Apologise sincerely to the victims and their families for what they have had to suffer.
• Support the survivors, the school and the wider community as they recover.
• Establish all the facts of the case, the history around the situation and the wider context.
• Learn all the lessons identified as part of the findings and recommendations of the various investigations.
• Improve by responding in full and at pace to all findings and recommendations with the aim of providing confidence to the public that the Council is doing everything possible to ensure that no one will suffer in the same way ever again.

 

The Council has received valuable input from external agencies to draw up the plan and they will continue to play an important role as the plan is developed and implemented.

 

During the meeting the Cabinet supported the recommendation to allocate resources to establish a specific Programme Board to co-ordinate and ensure appropriate and timely progress on the procedures. The Board will be led by an independent person and include external membership.

 

In addition, Cyngor Gwynedd’s call for the Welsh Government to hold a Public Inquiry into Neil Foden's crimes was formalised and the authority’s support to the Child Practice Review – which is already underway – was reiterated.

 

Councillor Nia Jeffreys, Leader of Cyngor Gwynedd, said:

 

“When I was elected Council Leader in early December, the very first thing I did was apologise to the victims and promise that no stone would be left unturned to establish what went wrong. I welcome the fact that the Cabinet have approved the Plan, and that we can now move ahead on our journey to get to the root of the issue.

 

“The Plan draws together in one document the measures we have already put in place and what we will do over the coming months and years. This will enable councillors, the people of Gwynedd, the Government and the Children's Commissioner to measure our progress and identify any gaps.

 

“This is a live document which will enable us to add to the plan as things develop over time.

 

“With all the work that is ongoing, it’s essential that we do not forget about the most important persons in this, namely the victims and all those affected by these horrific crimes. They continue to be at the forefront of our minds, and we will continue to do everything within our power to ensure that no young person in Gwynedd will suffer in the same way again.”