Understanding the Declining in Teenage Pregnancies in England

 

 

||Saturday: November 14: 2020 || ά. Declining rates of teenage pregnancies in England are related to local areas, experiencing less youth unemployment, growing Black or South Asian teenage populations, more educational attainment, unaffordable housing and a lack of available social housing, a recent Study has found. All English regions have seen a decline in under-18 conception rates but, there are significant geographical differences in the levels and rates of decline.

Northern regions have higher conception rates than southern regions. Inner London had much higher initial conception rates but has seen a faster decline. Areas with more youth unemployment still have higher rates of teenage conception than less deprived regions. The Study was led by Southampton PhD student Ms Katie Heap with Professor Ann Berrington from the ESRC Centre for Population Change and Professor Roger Ingham, of Health and Community Psychology at the University of Southampton. They used England’s Local Authority Districts to explore possible geographical reasons for declining teenage conception rates between 1998 and 2017.

Birth rates among under-18s fell by around a quarter between 1998 and 2008 but, then, halved in the following eight years. This decline was, mostly, driven by reduced conception rates and, to a lesser extent, higher proportions of conceptions ending in abortion.

Both education and employment for young people changed dramatically during the period studied. There were rising numbers of teenagers entering higher education, as well as, the 2008 economic recession. There has, also, been growing second and third generation teenage ethnic minority populations. Areas with greater proportions of South Asian pupils had lower conception rates throughout 1998-2017. This may be due to later sexual experiences or, that they may have more reasons to avoid pregnancy, being more likely to aspire to higher education.

Indeed, young people from ethnic minority groups are now more likely to attend university than in the past. Added to this, in 2003 both Black African and Caribbean teenagers had lower GCSE attainment than their White British counterparts but, by 2013, had closed this gap.

Housing became less affordable throughout the 2000-2010s. At the same time, the age of leaving education rose and other transitions into adulthood happened later. The Study found that there were lower conception rates in areas with less affordable housing or a lack of social housing and, increasingly, unaffordable housing was associated with a larger fall in teenage pregnancies.

Ms Katie Heap said, “This Study found that some of the changes in teenage pregnancy rates at the local level are explained by the characteristics of teenagers, living in the area and the wider society changing, so, policy-makers need to keep in mind the contextual changes of their area and areas they aim to emulate alongside behavioural changes.

Overall, the key concern is to improve outcomes for teenagers and children, especially, the most vulnerable and reduce long-term demand on services. It will, therefore, be vital for policy-makers to consider these geographical and population-level changes, helping local areas to continually adapt their approach to maintaining and reducing under-18 conception rates.”

The Study is published in the journal Health

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Major Investment in Youth Services Needed at the Budget to Help Prevent Knife Crime: All-Party Parliamentary Group on Knife Crimes and Violence Reduction

 

 

| Tuesday: March 10: 2020 || ά. Urgent investment in youth services is needed to help stop children from being criminally exploited and getting involved in knife crime, a cross party group of MPs has warned today, March 10. Ahead of the Budget, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Knife Crime and Violence Reduction is calling on the Chancellor to ensure there is adequate funding so local authorities can provide these vital services. The Group, which is supported by charities Barnardo’s and Redthread, is publishing a Report today, which includes the thoughts of young people about why these services are so vital. The APPG says that the Government’s £500 million youth investment fund, which was announced last autumn, is welcome but will not transform the system alone.

Instead, it wants to see measures in the budget and the upcoming Spending Review to plug the current gap between funding and spending, which, the Local Government Association estimates, will grow to £01.57 billion by 2024:25. Research, published by the APPG last year and, which underpins the recommendations in the group’s Securing a Brighter Future Report, published today, found a clear correlation between areas, which had cut spending on youth services and areas with the fastest increase in knife crime. The APPG is calling for four policy changes from government to improve youth services in England: conduct a national audit of youth services in England; fund local authorities to invest in sustainable long-term youth work; introduce a clear statutory requirement to local authorities for a minimum level of professional youth services provision and invest in a professional youth workforce because youth services are more than buildings.

One young person said about youth services, “Youth services offer qualifications because most kids caught up in knife crime might not be in school and they might just be out on the streets, doing like gang violence and stuff like that but youth services offer them a qualification so that they can try to apply for a job to try to get out of that lifestyle.”

And another young person said, “The camaraderie, that a lot of young people say that they get from the gangs you can get from team sport or even a boxing club. If, that’s what they are getting from the gang then you need to replicate that elsewhere.” Young people, who worked with the APPG on the Report said that youth services could be a lifeline.

In places, where these services have suffered widespread cutbacks the young people say gangs have been able to ‘step in’ and fill the void. They say that the gangs give them opportunities and a chance to be part of a group, that is otherwise lacking in their communities. And some said that living in disadvantaged areas with few chances of employment meant it was easy for gangs to lure young people in with the offer to make money.

They want there to be investment in youth clubs and other youth work projects because they say that this would fill the void the gangs have stepped into by giving them positive things to do in their community, as well as, a safe space to spend time with their friends.

And young people, who were lucky enough to live in areas, where there are youth services said that the impact of youth workers was vital. For them they are a trusted adult in their lives and help to support them as they get older with applications for housing, benefits, jobs and in other areas of their lives.

Barnardo’s Chief Executive Mr Javed Khan said, “Too many children are left vulnerable to gangs, who promise protection, a source of income and a sense of belonging that they’re not getting elsewhere.  Barnardo’s has long warned that the reduction in youth workers and safe spaces over many years has contributed to a ‘poverty of hope’ among young people, who see little or no chance of a positive future.

The Government has promised to invest in youth centres and mobile facilities, which is a welcome start. But we, also, need long-term, sustainable investment in children and young people’s services overall to help keep vulnerable children out of AandE and the criminal justice system  and to help them achieve a positive future.”

The Chair of the APPG on Knife Crime and Violence Reduction and the MP for Croydon Central, Ms Sarah Jones, said, “Knife crime is at record levels and too many young people are dying on our streets. Meanwhile, children across our country have seen youth services reduced or stripped away entirely in recent years. 

Policing and enforcement will always be important but, there is clear evidence that we can achieve better outcomes, if, government prioritises investment in preventing violence than dealing with its consequences.

This Report makes clear that we need to restore and elevate youth work, setting it on a par with teaching and recognising it as a profession by developing and supporting the workforce. That starts with proper funding at tomorrow’s budget.”

Redthread’s Chief Executive Mr John Poyton said, “The value of youth work lies in the positive relationships workers form with young people. These are relationships where there are no formal requirements to engage and no sanctions for non-attendance, where support responds organically to a young person’s needs. When a young person is working with a youth worker, it’s because they want to and because they trust the worker.

This may sound straightforward but, in practice the work is highly skilled and specialist, particularly, with young people experiencing complex issues like youth violence and knife crime. At its best, youth work can support these young people to thrive in the face of adversity and prevent exploitation and violence. But it can not achieve this without investment in developing the profession and the workforce. We urge the government to listen to the voices of youth workers featured in this report and take steps to strengthen the sector and safeguard young people.”

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Knife Crime: preventknifecrime.co.uk/reports-and-evidence: Page existed as on Wednesday: March 11: 2020. This notice signifies that that’s how it is when reported because in the future this page may not be there, which happens a great deal these days.

About the APPG on Knife Crime and Violence Reduction: The All-Party Parliamentary Group:APPG on Knife Crime and Violence Reduction is a group of over 70 MPs and Peers, set up in response to the alarming rise in knife crime across the country. The APPG seeks to evaluate policies and programmes aimed at reducing knife crime, gain better understanding of its root causes and the wider context of serious violence. The group aims to develop recommendations for new measures at both acute and preventative stages with a view to reducing levels of knife crime, and work with the cross-party Youth Violence Commission. The secretariat is jointly provided by Barnardo’s and Redthread.

About Barnardo’s: Barnardo’s is the UK’s largest national children’s charity. Last year we supported around 300,000 children, young people, parents and carers through more than 1,000 services, including, counselling for children, who have been exploited, support for children in and leaving care and specialist mental health services. Barnardo’s goal is to achieve better outcomes for more children, by creating stronger families, safer childhoods, and positive futures.

About Redthread: Redthread is a youth work charity, whose vision is a society in which all young people lead healthy, safe, and happy lives. Redthread’s mission is to empower young people to thrive as they navigate the challenging transition to adulthood by integrating trauma-informed youth work into the health sector. Redthread supports the holistic wellbeing of young people by delivering innovative interventions, personal support, and bridging of services, through their Youth Violence Intervention Programme in AandE departments across London and the Midlands. The aim is to help young people to meet their full potential and move away from cycles of violence and re-offending.

::: Caption: The St Salvators Chapel Choir: University of St Andrews: Image: University of St Andrews :::

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Homicide in England and Wales Year Ending March 2019: Homicides Fall by 05% Recording Male Homicides Decreasing by 11% While Female Victims Increased by 10%: Youth Homicide Victims Down 24%

 

 

|| Thursday: February 13: 2020 || ά. Office for National Statistics:ONS has published its Homicide in England and Wales, year ending March 2019, based on the analyses of information held within the Home Office Homicide Index, which contains detailed record-level information about each homicide, recorded by the police in England and Wales. There were 671 victims of homicide in the year ending March 2019, 33 fewer, 05%, than the previous year, the first fall since the year ending March 2015.

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JRT Foundation UK Poverty 2019:20: Poverty Will Not Disappear On Its Own: It Can Only Be Eradicated by Political Will Choice and Determination

 

 

|| Sunday: February 09: 2020 || ά. This is the 2019:20 edition of Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Annual Report on the nature and scale of poverty across the UK and how it affects people, who are caught in its grip. For a decent standard of living, we all need security and stability in our lives, secure housing, a reliable income and support, when things get difficult. For too many of us, there is no such security. Millions of people in the UK are struggling to get by, leading insecure and precarious lives, held back from improving their living standards.

It’s time to take action on poverty and put this right. In this Report we set out what we need to do to turn the tide on poverty. We need to build the public will for action; this Report highlights the importance of place, and how it affects people's access to a job with reliable and sufficient hours. Also, the importance of being able to afford to pay your housing costs and knowing you can rely on the social security system to help you when circumstances threaten to pull you into poverty.

Much of the world of work, social security and the housing market was designed based on decisions about our society’s priorities and resources. We can choose to redesign them so they loosen poverty’s grip and work better for everyone.

These policy solutions would help:

We need as many people as possible to be in good jobs. While the proportion of people in employment has risen consistently for six years, weak local economies in some parts of the country have led to higher unemployment, underemployment and more low pay than in the UK as a whole. This needs to change, with prospects for people in struggling places needing to be prioritised or progress will stall. In addition, employment among disabled people and carers is still low and they should be supported to work when they can.

We need to improve earnings for low-income working families, helping people in the lowest-paid jobs or working part-time. Too many people are stuck in low-paid, insecure jobs, with little chance of progression and too few hours of work to reach a decent living standard. Workers need more security, better training and opportunities to progress, particularly, in part-time jobs. In-work poverty must be seen as a critical issue for our economy and given high priority by economic policy-makers.

We need to strengthen the benefits system so that it provides the anchor, that people need in tough times. The current system needs to be improved to ensure it gives adequate support. We, also, need the system to offer a better service for people using it and to shift public thinking so that a poverty-fighting social security system is seen as an essential public service and receives sustainable investment.

We need to increase the amount of low-cost housing available for families on low incomes and increase support for people with high housing costs. We, also, need to address the sense of insecurity felt by many people, living in the private rented sector.

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|| Monday: January 27: 2020: Martin Kern Writing || ά. When launching the transformative Green Deal, Ms Ursula von der Leyen, the new European Commission President, emphasised, ‘’We will need to invest in innovation and research, redesign our economy and update our industrial policy. Those, who act first and fastest will, also, be the ones, who grasp the opportunities from the ecological transition.’’

This is ambitious. This is, also, an absolute necessity; at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology:EIT, we are committed to playing our part in Europe’s drive towards global climate leadership. Delivering a sustainable future for Europe, with innovative, entrepreneurial education, is at the heart of our actions. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development:OECD reports that, at least, 80 million workers in Europe are mismatched in terms of qualifications and 44 percent of Europe’s adult population has little to no digital skills at all, with many companies lacking more advanced specialised skills. It is clear that we need to act fast.

At the EIT, we believe education is a key tool to boost innovation, tackle pressing global challenges and create new high-quality jobs in Europe. If, we want the next generation of innovators and change-makers to be ready, now is the time for action. As part of the EIT Community, leading higher education, business and research organisations across Europe work closely together on delivering EIT education programmes.

We focus on guiding innovative thinking towards key societal challenges to ensure that innovation and new technologies improve quality of life and bring tangible benefits for citizens. From advanced digital solutions to cleantech, we encourage our students to turn technology applications into solutions with positive social impact. Our model for education is, therefore, exactly what Europe needs, a platform, that develops a community for Europe’s top entrepreneurs and change makers.

There is a significant gap in experiential entrepreneurial learning in Europe. That is why education for entrepreneurship and innovation skills are at the heart of the EIT’s strategic ambition, teaching students what they need to know to successfully start and run a business and equipping them with the right skills to thrive in the digital age. Practical solutions are needed, if, tomorrow’s entrepreneurs are to tackle climate change and other pressing challenges, such as, cancer, sustainable energy, sustainable cities, food security and access to raw materials.

The World Economic Forum has argued that ‘Education should be like everything else. An on-demand service.’ Much like just about everything else, this generation expects its education to be personalised. Investing in science, technology, engineering and maths:STEM education is critical but, needs inspiring and creative approaches to become attractive to students. Our programmes, therefore, include master and doctoral programmes, executive training and professional development courses, summer schools and online courses, aiming to provide a more ‘consumer-friendly’ approach or, even, education on-demand.

Delivering more than 60 master programmes, in addition to several doctoral schools, through 80 universities spread across Europe, the EIT Community can speak of over 2,300 students, having graduated from our leadership programmes. By the end of 2020, we project that over 5,000 students will hold an EIT degree. It is just the beginning, as the European Commission has proposed a new education initiative for the EIT, that will see us work with an additional 450 universities across Europe, supporting their transition to more innovative and entrepreneurial organisations.

We should remember that our real potential is achieved through diversity and inclusion. So, when we see that the average European start-up founder, for example, is male, 82.8% and holds a university degree, 84.8%, it’s clear, there is a mountain still to be climbed and the fact that less than 08% of investors and business angels in Europe are women, certainly, doesn’t help either.

Therefore, at the EIT, we strive for a broader entrepreneurial demographic and a more gender-balanced entrepreneur profile. A first step towards achieving this is implementing a more female-friendly format, more inclusive of those in need of flexible learning.

The EIT is reaching out to diverse groups, not just university students. We are training girls and young women in digital and entrepreneurial skills across Europe, promoting positive role models and enhancing digital and entrepreneurial skills to help tackle the gender gap and boost female participation in science, technology and business. Mobilising this untapped female potential is critical to Europe’s competitiveness and one of the major goals we are setting ourselves.

The European Commission’s proposed new strategy for the EIT for 2021-27 places us at the heart of the European Union’s next Research and Innovation Programme, Horizon Europe, with a 25% budget increase and an increased ambition and mandate, including, in the area of education. There is one more thing we all need to remember, we need to work together, we need to be better connected. We look forward to closer co-operation with other EU programmes.  United and ambitious, Europe can challenge global competitors. By investing in education, entrepreneurship and innovation, we are creating a greener, healthier, more sustainable Europe.

::: Martin Kern is the Director of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology :::

What is the European Institute of Innovation and Technology:EIT: The EIT was created in 2008 to power Europe’s ability to innovate. The EIT is the only EU initiative to fully integrate business, education and research. We are Europe’s largest innovation community with more than 1,500 partners and 50 innovation hubs across Europe. The Institute boosts the development of dynamic pan-European partnerships between leading universities, research labs and companies. These are called Innovation Communities and each focus on a specific global challenge.

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