Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has been urged by Barnardo's Scotland to prioritise children's services, after it produced a scathing report ranking the country second from bottom for children's well-being in a list of developed nations.
Barnardo's ranked Scotland joint 22nd out of 24, alongside Portugal, in a list of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in an index of well-being, which included levels of child poverty, education, teenage pregnancies and suicide.
The country did particularly poorly in child poverty, teenage pregnancy and economic participation among 15- to 19-year-olds, though it was ranked eighth for education.
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6 comments:
Interesting blog.
Being born in Zimbabwe, and then living in South Africa for a decade or two, until recently my comparisons with Scotland tend to always make Scotland favorable... except your weather! ;-)
I do agree there is room for improvement, but at least this is a country that is willing to admit that and has a population able to make a difference, unlike most of Africa.
People here think I'm daft when I praise the NHS, but knowing that I'd be dead by now if I was still "back home" (been in emergency three times and two operations on the NHS in the last four years) does make me somewhat biased. I know it can be worse, I believe it be get better - both make me far more optimistic for this country's future than for my birthland.
typo - I believe it COULD be better. duh! :-P
I totally agree with Michelle when she says Scotland is better than South Africa, for obvious reasons of course in these troubled times. However, it saddens me also that the figures on Scottish health and welfare show an almost third world country rather than part of the UK! Perhaps they would indeed be better off with their independence, although the future of that would of course depend on the change in attitude of the existing population.
I saw your competition link Michelle on alifeofrhymebobg. It's very good and I'm proud to say I have had two poems published in two different books! James may need to brush up a bit first, but I'm sure he'll get his just desserts in the end!
Hi Rotty
Getting poetry published is always an accomplishment, given the high levels of unenthusiasm the publishing world has for poetry in the first place.
Hi Michelle,
Yes, I agree with you about how difficult it is to get published, unless of course you go for a vanity pubisher, but that can be very disheartening as well as expensive. However, I suppose it really depends on how big the poet's ego is as to whether he would take that route or not. I would advise against, but that is only my opinion. Best wishes to you and a Merry Christmas to you and your family.
By the way, Sweaty, I like the info and am thinking of putting it into a book I am hoping to start writing in the New Year. Sorry to turn your blog into a Chat Room with Michelle, but she seems a very nice person and I always did like a gossip!
Merry Christmas to you Sweaty and your family.
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