Following are the highlights of the activities of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) during the year 2016:

The panel will provide advice and support on issues relating to the delivery of healthy relationships education within the curriculum. This includes a range of areas including improving understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues, violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, respect and consent, sexism and bullying.

Emma Renold, Professor of childhood studies at Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences has agreed to chair the Group.

As well as teaching on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the field of childhood studies, Professor Renold has recently collaborated with Welsh Women’s Aid, NSPCC Cymru and the Children’s Commissioner to develop the online resource AGENDA: A Young People’s Guide to Making Positive Relationships Matter.

Kirsty Williams said:

“Providing good quality learning for children and young people on healthy relationships is essential to tackling a range of important issues and I want to have the best expert advice to help us achieve this.

“I am delighted such an experienced figure such as Professor Emma Renold has agreed to chair the group as she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this new role.

“She is internationally recognised for her work on gender and sexuality in childhood and youth across a wide range of areas including bullying, violence and sexualisation and I look forward to working with her.”

Professor Renold said:

“It is both a privilege and an honour to help support the effective delivery of sex and relationships education within the curriculum in Wales.

“Chairing this panel is an incredible opportunity to draw upon research evidence, and collaborate with experts, including young people, to identify the most effective resources and practices that will address and enhance children and young people’s gender and sexual well-being.”

The panel will be made up of individuals and organisations with relevant experience and expertise.

There’s only one month to go until the way vehicle tax is calculated will change.

As the changes will only affect new cars and some motorhomes, we thought we’d have a look to see which areas registered the highest number of new vehicles last year.

The Birmingham postcode area was busiest buying new vehicles, with over 200,000 being registered.

Birmingham was followed by Milton Keynes and Guildford.

It’s no great surprise that postcodes in densely populated areas made the top 10, but it’s interesting that Glasgow (67,780), Manchester (32,177) and Liverpool (26,756) were just outside.

Not everybody will be affected by the changes immediately. The changes only apply to brand new cars and some motorhomes registered with DVLA on or after 1 April 2017. But we still wanted to make sure that everyone is aware at the same time, so we’ve been blogging regularly to let you know what DVLA’s been doing to get ready for the changes. We’ve been busy in other ways too, including:

• working very closely with stakeholders to make sure that they’re aware of the changes, including several webinars, such as for the fleet industry
• developing a new service to register new vehicles which will launch later this year.
• launching a publicity campaign that’s being run across social media, blogs and messages on DVLA literature
• getting our contact centre ready, who have an automated telephone service to quickly answer your questions

The changes take effect from 1 April 2017, so make sure you have a look at the new vehicle tax rates to see if they affect you.

Follow DVLA on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe to our Digital Services Blog.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar on the eve of their Independence Day (January 4, 2017).

Jointly funded by the Welsh Government’s Supporting People Programme Grant and Children’s Services in Newport, the project supports young people with complex needs who are leaving residential or secure units. Staff are trained to take a therapeutic approach and build on each individual’s strengths. The service has seen a huge increase in young people engaged in training or employment and securing longer term housing. 

The Cabinet Secretary met some of the young people living at George Street and the staff who have been supporting them. 

He said:

“I have been very impressed with the George Street Project and all the people I have met today, both staff and residents. I am committed to ensuring young people have the same life chances and are equipped for success as they move to adulthood. 

“The young people who are being helped by the ‘Move In’ service have sadly already experienced several Adverse Childhood Experiences, which we know affect their chances later in life. They are lucky to have the support of Solas Cymru to overcome these experiences and it is heartening to hear of their plans to move into their own homes, undertake training and plan for their future careers. I wish them the very best for their futures.”