Audit Office talks over Llanfyllin HS

Montgomeryshire AM, Russell George, has met with the Wales Audit office (WAO) to discuss concerns regarding the controversy surrounding home to school transport in Llanfyllin.

Mr George has also called on Powys County Council to outline how it will respond to criticisms contained in an independent report, commissioned by Powys County Council and the Governing Body of Llanfyllin High School, which identified a series of failings relating to the local authority’s procedures.

Mr George has met with WAO officials to discuss recent developments in Llanfyllin and to express his claims that Powys did not appear to have a rigorous process of oversight over the school’s budget.

He said: “The independent investigation concluded that Powys County Council abdicated responsibility over compliance and failed to conduct even a cursory investigation of the school’s draft budget to ensure that they were not in breach of the regulations surrounding home to school transport.

“Notwithstanding any ongoing disciplinary procedures which will clearly have to run their course, it is clear that the Authority’s internal audit processes were insufficiently rigorous.

“The Wales Audit Office confirmed to me that as an external auditor, it would be making enquiries with the Council as to how and when they plan to respond to the recommendations within the report.”

The school has landed in trouble for offering subsidised buses to 149 pupils for whom Llanfyllin is not their nearest secondary school. Some were being brought in on coaches from homes across the Shropshire border.