We came across this headline on the official Welsh Government site, dated Friday 22 May 2015 You can access the full article here. |
Cutting to the chase on this one - the story flatly does not make sense and is so full of holes that I am surprised that it actually saw the light of day. Let's unpick it, fact (or not) one at a time:
£7.6m funding boost: Sounds a large sum, so fair enough - put it front and center in the news article. The word "boost" would imply "adding to something" and "extra to what was initially there" - in politician speak, that would probably be interpreted as "new money"
The subheading proclaims: "The Welsh Government will invest an extra £7.6m every year" - OK, seems clear, the article has clarified that this £7.6m is in addition. But, what does "every year" mean in this context? Does it mean that an "additional £7.6m will be added to the funding for these services, on top of whatever else will be allocated for that year?"; does it mean "the budget for this area will increase by £7.6m this year - and that figure will be maintained next year and in subsequent years?" - and whilst we're at it, how long is the commitment inherit in the phrase "every year" - every year for ever, until the end of time? Every year, till next election? Every year till we change our minds - which might just be next year?
In the head line, the Minister is referred to as "Minister Mark Drakeford" - as is proper and correct. That is who he is, and the role he discharges for the Welsh Government and you, the voter.
The next MONSTER sentence beginning "The additional funding...." flummoxed the readers here in Cerdyn Coch towers - we're all degree educated, all have post graduate qualifications and one of us carries the title "Doctor....of something clever" - but we struggled with this waffle fest.
The SMOG index of this paragraph is 27. For reference, the Times, Guardian and Telegraph have a SMOG of around 17 to 18. (see link for details on SMOG). Having never come across a SMOG value so high, we can only estimate that the intended reader is a sixty something university professor who reads this stuff for a living.
Giving the paragraph the benefit of the doubt; we will sum that up as "lots of important shit is going to be done with the money"
"It will also support the implementation of work, which is currently being carried out to make CAMHS more responsive to the needs of young people. This work is being led by the NHS and was formally launched by the Minister for Health and Social Services on February 26."
So, do I read the "make CAMHS more responsive" to mean that currently CAMHS is currently "not responsive enough?" - so, let's get this right... We've always had a Labour administration in Wales, so you're bragging about fixing something that you caused? Mmmmm. The second part of the paragraph ends with "formally launched by the Minister for Health and Social Services on February 26" - Is that relevant to this article and I'm somewhat unclear (or should I say even more unclear) now over where funding is coming from from/going to - is this claimed £7.6m included in the announcement of February 26? Interesting, the Minister is still referred to as the "Minister" at this point.
"The funding package includes £2m announced earlier this week to develop services for young people with neuro-developmental needs....." So, to be clear, this "£7.6m boost" is actually a £5.6m boost as you've claimed the kudos for £2m previously - sneaky!
Professor Drakeford said:
“The additional funding I’m announcing today will help to drive a range of important improvements in child and adolescent mental health services across Wales..."
Notice that it's now Professor Drakeford not the Minister. For sure, he has the honour of that title, but is this an article within the context of his research into social policy at Cardiff University or a political statement within the context of his role as a AM? Claiming the title Professor at this point seems somewhat cynical in an attempt to increase the validity of his subsequent statement.
This final summary is again, somewhat imprecise:
"The £7.6m investment child and adolescent mental health services in 2015-16 is part of a wider funding package worth £19.5m, which is being invested in mental health services across Wales by the Welsh Government." So, even though at the start we are told "every year", the conclusion ties this to 2015-16. The "wider funding package worth £19.5m" as it's mentioned in this article, am I to assume that this is also a commitment that will be rolled out "every year"?
To conclude - at best, we found this article confusing and not really sure what it was claiming. Hollow words indeed.
All this talk of £7.6m; don't forget that this is our, public money that is being discussed here - collected from us in tax and spent on services for us. It's not Welsh Government money, it's ours, spent (hopefully) for our benefit.
Cerdyn Coch
£7.6m funding boost: Sounds a large sum, so fair enough - put it front and center in the news article. The word "boost" would imply "adding to something" and "extra to what was initially there" - in politician speak, that would probably be interpreted as "new money"
The subheading proclaims: "The Welsh Government will invest an extra £7.6m every year" - OK, seems clear, the article has clarified that this £7.6m is in addition. But, what does "every year" mean in this context? Does it mean that an "additional £7.6m will be added to the funding for these services, on top of whatever else will be allocated for that year?"; does it mean "the budget for this area will increase by £7.6m this year - and that figure will be maintained next year and in subsequent years?" - and whilst we're at it, how long is the commitment inherit in the phrase "every year" - every year for ever, until the end of time? Every year, till next election? Every year till we change our minds - which might just be next year?
In the head line, the Minister is referred to as "Minister Mark Drakeford" - as is proper and correct. That is who he is, and the role he discharges for the Welsh Government and you, the voter.
The next MONSTER sentence beginning "The additional funding...." flummoxed the readers here in Cerdyn Coch towers - we're all degree educated, all have post graduate qualifications and one of us carries the title "Doctor....of something clever" - but we struggled with this waffle fest.
- 62 words, 341 characters and 106 syllables
The SMOG index of this paragraph is 27. For reference, the Times, Guardian and Telegraph have a SMOG of around 17 to 18. (see link for details on SMOG). Having never come across a SMOG value so high, we can only estimate that the intended reader is a sixty something university professor who reads this stuff for a living.
Giving the paragraph the benefit of the doubt; we will sum that up as "lots of important shit is going to be done with the money"
"It will also support the implementation of work, which is currently being carried out to make CAMHS more responsive to the needs of young people. This work is being led by the NHS and was formally launched by the Minister for Health and Social Services on February 26."
So, do I read the "make CAMHS more responsive" to mean that currently CAMHS is currently "not responsive enough?" - so, let's get this right... We've always had a Labour administration in Wales, so you're bragging about fixing something that you caused? Mmmmm. The second part of the paragraph ends with "formally launched by the Minister for Health and Social Services on February 26" - Is that relevant to this article and I'm somewhat unclear (or should I say even more unclear) now over where funding is coming from from/going to - is this claimed £7.6m included in the announcement of February 26? Interesting, the Minister is still referred to as the "Minister" at this point.
"The funding package includes £2m announced earlier this week to develop services for young people with neuro-developmental needs....." So, to be clear, this "£7.6m boost" is actually a £5.6m boost as you've claimed the kudos for £2m previously - sneaky!
Professor Drakeford said:
“The additional funding I’m announcing today will help to drive a range of important improvements in child and adolescent mental health services across Wales..."
Notice that it's now Professor Drakeford not the Minister. For sure, he has the honour of that title, but is this an article within the context of his research into social policy at Cardiff University or a political statement within the context of his role as a AM? Claiming the title Professor at this point seems somewhat cynical in an attempt to increase the validity of his subsequent statement.
This final summary is again, somewhat imprecise:
"The £7.6m investment child and adolescent mental health services in 2015-16 is part of a wider funding package worth £19.5m, which is being invested in mental health services across Wales by the Welsh Government." So, even though at the start we are told "every year", the conclusion ties this to 2015-16. The "wider funding package worth £19.5m" as it's mentioned in this article, am I to assume that this is also a commitment that will be rolled out "every year"?
To conclude - at best, we found this article confusing and not really sure what it was claiming. Hollow words indeed.
All this talk of £7.6m; don't forget that this is our, public money that is being discussed here - collected from us in tax and spent on services for us. It's not Welsh Government money, it's ours, spent (hopefully) for our benefit.
Cerdyn Coch