For over 10 years, the mother of all Quangos has held its spot in Cardiff Bay. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), acting like any other WAG in Manchester or Liverpool, fritters away millions and dresses itself up to seem more important than it actually is.
It is well published in many a teen magazine, the footballer’s WAG can usually get their own way. In comparison, the Welsh Assembly Government cannot make a law unless it gets parliamentary approval from Westminster.
The Welsh Assembly Government has secured over £15bn in its budget this year, and has just announced that youngsters in areas of Wales with the highest rates of teenage pregnancies are to be offered extra sexual and relationship advice costing taxpayers an additional £450,000.
Figures in February showed Merthyr Tydfil in the South Wales Valleys has the highest teenage pregnancy rate for 15-17 year-olds in England and Wales. In 2008, the rate was 73.5 conceptions per 1,000 girls.
The second highest figure in Wales was Rhondda Cynon Taf, with 59.2 per 1,000 girls.
The Health Minister, Edwina Hart, recently said on the BBC that ‘people must take personal responsibility for their actions.’ This in itself suggests that no matter how much money is pumped into a particular sexual health project, if those in the community are not listening or not even attending sessions, it is money down the drain. At the moment, sex education is provided through a number of delivery points including health practitioners, schools and WAG’s Communities First project, to name a few.
Communities First describes itself as:
‘The Welsh Assembly Government’s flagship programme to improve the living conditions and prospects of people in the most disadvantaged communities across Wales.’
It has been under-fire recently from the Welsh Audit Office, because of the £214m it has cost Welsh taxpayers and the lack of service that it provides. Considering it operates essentially in the areas highlighted for an extra £450,000, questions have to be asked.
Examples of these questions could be: Does WAG need to reassess who manages projects like Communities First, its spending and project approach? Is extra spending on sex education going to cut pregnancy rates? And probably the most imperative question: Does taxpayers’ money need to be spent at all on projects like this?
For over 10 years, the mother of all Quangos has held its spot in Cardiff Bay. The Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), acting like any other WAG in Manchester or Liverpool, fritters away millions and dresses itself up to seem more important than it actually is.
It is well published in many a teen magazine, the footballer’s WAG can usually get their own way. In comparison, the Welsh Assembly Government cannot make a law unless it gets parliamentary approval from Westminster.
The Welsh Assembly Government has secured over £15bn in its budget this year, and has just announced that youngsters in areas of Wales with the highest rates of teenage pregnancies are to be offered extra sexual and relationship advice costing taxpayers an additional £450,000.
Figures in February showed Merthyr Tydfil in the South Wales Valleys has the highest teenage pregnancy rate for 15-17 year-olds in England and Wales. In 2008, the rate was 73.5 conceptions per 1,000 girls.
The second highest figure in Wales was Rhondda Cynon Taf, with 59.2 per 1,000 girls.
The Health Minister, Edwina Hart, recently said on the BBC that ‘people must take personal responsibility for their actions.’ This in itself suggests that no matter how much money is pumped into a particular sexual health project, if those in the community are not listening or not even attending sessions, it is money down the drain. At the moment, sex education is provided through a number of delivery points including health practitioners, schools and WAG’s Communities First project, to name a few.
Communities First describes itself as:
‘The Welsh Assembly Government’s flagship programme to improve the living conditions and prospects of people in the most disadvantaged communities across Wales.’
It has been under-fire recently from the Welsh Audit Office, because of the £214m it has cost Welsh taxpayers and the lack of service that it provides. Considering it operates essentially in the areas highlighted for an extra £450,000, questions have to be asked.
Examples of these questions could be: Does WAG need to reassess who manages projects like Communities First, its spending and project approach? Is extra spending on sex education going to cut pregnancy rates? And probably the most imperative question: Does taxpayers’ money need to be spent at all on projects like this?