To receive any written questions from members of the public.

Deadline for receipt of questions is 5:00pm on Wednesday 20 April

Accepted questions and answers will be published as a supplement prior to the meeting. Please submit questions to: councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk. 

Further information and guidance is available at www.herefordshire.gov.uk/getinvolved

Before the committee could hear subsequent questions from members of the public, a question was put by a councillor on a concern they have currently that they wished to have resolved.

Year 7 special students are unaware of secondary school places, why is this and when will they be informed?

A response was to be given in a written form by the Corporate Director – Children and Young People.

There were three questions submitted prior to the committee meeting. Answers to these questions were published as a supplement to the agenda.

Following this, each person who submitted a question also requested to ask a supplementary question. The first of these was submitted as a written follow up question which the Chair read aloud:

The Department for Education reviewed the A Fertile Heart programme after the Ofsted Inspection and found serious non-compliance issues. Consequently, in June 2021 the (former) Minister for School Standards, Nick Gibb MP wrote to local MPs that “A Fertile Heart contained content that would be hard for a school to present in a way that was consistent with the statutory guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE)”. He undertook to write to the Archdiocese and the Publishers. According to the Council's response, it appears no significant changes to the programme have been made. Given this, how does the legal advice square with the Council's duty to protect children and ensure primary equality and human rights are not breached, and how can the Council legally challenge the continuation of such a programme in one of our schools?

Mr Darryl Freeman picked up this question and offered to provide a written response to the individual within 2 weeks, following consultation with the Legal Team.

The chair then invited the first member of the public in the room to present their supplementary question.

They stated:

Thank you for the written response. It refers to a lot of documents but fails to answer my question and it does not explain how the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act apply to cases of peer-on-peer sexual assault.

The Council’s guidance for schools has only one reference to the Human Rights Act and one reference to the Equality Act – these are cursory references in the Appendix which merely urges schools to ensure they adhere to those Acts.

There is NO explanation for schools as to how those Acts apply to cases of peer-on-peer sexual assault. No wonder that schools are still getting it wrong and that victims – mainly girls – are still at risk of harm.

I am more than ever concerned that no officer in this Council has got to grips with how the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act apply and I hope I am wrong on that. Can someone – any officer or any member – put my mind at rest, and please explain to us how the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act should operate in a specific circumstance of protecting a rape victim who has reported the crime to the police but does not wish to go through the criminal justice system.

Mr Darryl Freeman was asked to provide a response to the question from the member of the public. He stated that he disagreed that the council did not have appropriate guidance and policies, as suggested. 

The response to the question was deferred to a written response following consultation with Legal colleagues. The deadline for this would be within 2 weeks.

The chair then invited the second member of the public in the room to present their supplement question. They stated:

In the written response to my question, Q3 again relevant to Peer on Peer abuse. Case by case basis with the voice of the child in use. My trouble with this is that the child in many cases will not be familiar with their rights under the equality act or human rights act. May feel that there is pressure to be kept in the same space as the perpetrator of their abuse. More often than not it is girls that are victims sadly. My concern is that there being asked to be in the same space and continue their education in the same space as the same situation. What guidance will be given by officers of the council to the schools specifically where there aren’t going to be pursuing a criminal case, as this doesn’t always happen in a timely manner. What guidance will be given to schools?

The Chair asked Mr Darryl Freeman to provide a response to the question from the member of the public.

The response to the question was deferred to a written response following consultation with Legal colleagues. The deadline for this would be within 2 weeks.