Darren Miller AM

Chair - Public Accounts Committee

National Assembly for Wales

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff

CF99 1NA

5 June 2015

Auditor General’s report: Achieving improvement in support to schools through regional education consortia – an early view

Dear Darren

I write to acknowledge receipt for your request for my Department’s response to the five recommendations set out in the Auditor General’s report.

We would be pleased to respond and suggest that the Committee receives a written response by the 8 July 2015. I recognise that for procedural purposes a request was made for a response within two weeks, but given the weight of the Auditor and Estyn’s reports and out of respect to the Committee, we do not think that we are going to be able to do it justice in such a short timescale. We are also undertaking a series of planned summer review and challenge sessions with each consortium between the 25 June and the 3 July 2015, as detailed within the National Model. I think it would help the Committee’s deliberations to receive a report of theses sessions within our response. This would ensure our response’s currency given that the agreed focus of the summer review and challenge sessions is a review of progress made against the implementation of the WAO and Estyn remit report recommendations.

An extension to the 8 July will allow us to reflect an up to date response from the four regional consortia.

Yours sincerely

Owen Evans

Director General, Department for Education and Skills