Jun72017

Children First pioneer projects announced

Welsh Government
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Children First is the name for children’s zones in Wales. Their purpose is to allow the local community and organisations to work together to address the specific needs of children and young people in the area and to reduce the inequalities some children and young people face compared with their peers in more socially advantaged places.

The approach, which involves working collaboratively around a specific place for the benefit of children and young people forms part of the new ambition to create resilient communities announced by the Cabinet Secretary earlier this year. 

Announcing the projects, the Cabinet Secretary said: 

“Children First is about initiating change at the local level, based on the needs of the specific place, identified by listening to children and young people and the local community.  It will aim to bring together all the services and support which will be effective in addressing the needs of children and young people from birth to adulthood.

“Children’s and young people’s rights should be central to Children First, including the right to participate in decisions affecting them. Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs are also a priority.  I am convinced that we need to find ways to prevent ACEs and mitigate their impact, to give our children and young people and the communities they live in the opportunity to flourish.

“I am very grateful to the 19 organisations who put forward expressions of interest in establishing Children First areas. We have identified five proposals that are ready to proceed as pioneers. They will give us the opportunity to see how the approach works for a range of issues, in different communities across the country.

“I hope that in time, the benefits of Children First areas will be clear and there will be an increase in delivery of this multi-agency, collaborative approach.  I am encouraged that a number of the other proposals we received could also be developed to become Children First projects, and we will ensure that learning from our pioneers is shared with others to allow further projects to come on stream as quickly as possible.”

Jun72017

ESMA responds to Commission consultation on Fintech

EU
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has sent today its response to the European Commission consultation paper on “Fintech: a more competitive and innovative financial sector”, welcoming the initiative to take a stock-take of the EU’s Fintech industry.

 

 

ESMA sees Fintech as a positive evolution overall as long as business models aim at improving financial consumer experiences and facilitate financial inclusion. In its consultation response, ESMA provides its on intelligence on some of the issues raised, including for:

  • Artificial intelligence and big data analytics for automated advice and businesses – while ESMA acknowledges potential benefits, it also believes that the use of such technologies may trigger a number of concerns. ESMA stresses that possible technology-driven cost savings should be passed on to consumers. Also, ESMA hopes the Commission will take into account work currently carried out within the Joint Committee and notes that any possible specific legislation in this field should be underpinned by a thorough impact assessment;
  • Crowdfunding – ESMA reiterates its call   for a specific crowdfunding EU-level regime, which would ensure investors across the EU are equally protected and which would enable crowdfunding platforms to operate cross-border based on a common regulatory framework;
  • Reg Tech – ESMA notes that the use of technology by market participants and regulators to comply with regulatory and supervisory requirements is not new. ESMA recognises the possible additional benefits that Reg Tech could entail for regulators if they use more these technologies in particular for data reporting and analysis;
  • Outsourcing and cloud computing – ESMA stresses that outsourcing arrangements, including to the cloud, should be implemented in a manner that complies with European legislation, including on data security and data protection rules;
  • Distributed ledger technology – Following the publication of its report in February 2017, ESMA continues to monitor market developments around DLT and looks into whether a regulatory response may become necessary;
  • Role of regulation and supervisors – ESMA believes that entities providing the same service should be regulated and supervised on an equal foot. However, Fintech start-ups might benefit from regulatory advice to navigate the applicable legal framework; and
  • Role of industry: standards and interoperability – ESMA strongly supports the objective of data standardisation and harmonisations.

ESMA’s response also includes a survey on regulated investment-based crowdfunding platforms in the European Economic Area (EEA), providing an overview of current activities and trends.