This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Childline counselling centre
24/05/2004
A new Childline counselling centre for children
in the North and Northeast of Scotland was officially
opened today.
Speaking inAberdeen, First Minister Jack McConnell said:
"I am delighted today to open this new
centre. Every child in
Scotlandhas the right to be safe and secure. If they
feel they are threatened they should be able to get the
help they need when it is needed.
"Our investment in Childline has resulted in the
opening of this new counselling centre inAberdeen- ensuring more vulnerable children than ever before
will have access to comfort, help, and support from trained
counsellors. I am committed to improving the
protection we offer our children.
"In the past child protection services were too often
not good enough. When systems fail, we let downScotland's most vulnerable children. Alongside support for
organisations like Childline we will pursue reform of the
Scottish child protection system."
Anne Houston, Director of ChildLineScotland, said:
"Although the lines have only been open for a
short time we are already seeing the difference
ChildLine Scotland North and North East is
making.
"We are pleased that the Scottish Executive view
ChildLine as an important part of providing the
protection that children need. We are delighted that
this centre has been made possible because the
Executive listened to what children and young people
had to say about the need for a service such as
ChildLine."
At the launch the First Minister met the winners of
the Lift Off competition which had been set for all
Aberdeenshire primary school children. The children
had been asked to finish off the sentence 'Childline is
cool because…'.
The winners of the competition were
Emma Streatharn, Rachel Craig, and Donya Davidson.
Childline Scotland were awarded a
one-off grant of £500,000 over two years from the
Executive.
This has contributed to the opening of the
Aberdeen counselling centre, and expanded the capacity of
the Glasgow centre.