Mark Isherwood
North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has urged the Welsh Government to reconsider it’s decision to cease funding for two schemes which are key for children and young people across Wales.
Funky Dragon, the Children and Young People’s Assembly for Wales, and Play Wales, which supports the delivery of play provision, have both been unsuccessful in their applications for further funding from the Welsh Government.
For 15 years Play Wales has supported the implementation of play policy at local level. After 30 September 2014 Play Wales will not be able to continue this work.
Funky Dragon are also facing a bleak future and may be forced to close. This week Mr Isherwood met with Funky Dragon representatives, including Chairperson Tricia Jones and Gary Jackson from Wrexham, to discuss the situation and later raised his concerns when calling for a Welsh Government Statement on the matter in the Assembly Chamber.
He said:
“I endorse calls for a statement on the impact of the decision on the Children and Families Delivery Grant in relation to Funky Dragon and Play Wales.
“Funky Dragon told me that it is the only independent, user-led, young people’s voice advising Welsh Government and holding Government to account, but the Welsh Government never came to them beforehand to say that it was not happy or to ask them to change. Funky Dragon asked why it did not hear anything beforehand and why it was not told if the Welsh Government felt it was not doing things as it wanted. I remind the Welsh Government of the problem we share collectively of low young-people engagement in the political process, with just one in five voting.”
He added: “Play Wales, like Funky Dragon, appreciates the situation regarding budgets, but the contracts have gone to generalist organisations – very good, respected generalist organisations – but not a voice representing young people and led by young people themselves, and not the specialist play organisations that are so essential at a time when play sufficiency is being rolled out by local authorities. Play and recreation are very different things that require local and professional understanding and delivery.”
The Minister for Local Government and Government Business, Lesley Griffiths AM, replied: “We are very lucky in Wales to have so many organisations that have an excellent history of and enthusiasm for working with young people. My understanding is that that is not correct: Ministers did have early conversations with Funky Dragon, I think as far back as last autumn.”
Mr Isherwood added: “This is not what their Chairperson told me in the Assembly this week. Funky Dragon leads the way in the promotion of youth voices and gives the opportunity for children and young people who don’t have access to the ballot box to hold Ministers, AMs and MPs to account. If it was to cease, Wales would be the only country in Europe not to have an independent youth forum. The Welsh Government can’t allow this to happen.”
