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Seized cash to fund youth projects
15/02/2008
Young people the length and breadth of Scotland are to benefit from a new £3 million grant scheme for youth projects to be funded from the proceeds of crime.
The latest strand of the Scottish Government's CashBack for Communities scheme will provide funding for projects which support young people involved, or at risk from violence, alcohol, drugs or antisocial behaviour as well as support for initiatives such as youth drop-in services and residential, environmental and outdoor activities including climbing walls, skate parks, mountain bikes and canoes and yachts.
This is the first time that the reinvestment of proceeds of crime money will be distributed back into every part of Scotland.
Youth organisations and projects throughout Scotland will be able to apply for a share of the money, which will be administered by YouthLink Scotland, the national youth work agency.
Speaking in advance of a visit to a youth drop-in centre in Inverness, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:
"Although the vast majority of our young people are law-abiding, there are still too many getting involved in crime and antisocial behaviour.
"The Scottish Government is committed to giving our young people the opportunity to realise their potential and giving them real hopes and aspirations for their future.
"That's why it's fitting that we use the ill-gotten gains of criminals to give something back to our communities. We have already announced funding for a package of football-related activities for young people throughout Scotland.
"This latest strand of our CashBack for Communities scheme will see £3 million of cash seized from criminals supporting youth organisations and projects in every part of the country.
"From Selkirk to Shetland, we want to help our young people develop, give them the opportunity to get involved in their communities and try things that might never normally be available to them.
"We want to give them positive things to do with their lives and show them that there can be so much more to life than drink, drugs and offending.
"CashBack for Communities is the means by which we will do so, making a real difference to the lives of young people throughout Scotland."
Jim Sweeney, Chief Executive of YouthLink Scotland said:
"YouthLink Scotland are delighted to have been asked by the Scottish Government to administer this significant grant funding.
"We recently called on the Government to increase the funding that is going into youthwork projects around the country, and I am delighted to see this being addressed. There is a lot to do, but the CashBack for Communities initiative is an extremely good start."
John Loughton, Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament and the recent winner of Big Brother Celebrity Hijack, who is also attending the Inverness launch said:
"It's great to see money being ploughed back into communities for the benefit of young people, particularly in those areas which are most in need. Deprivation damages the aspirations of communities - we see this as more than an injection of cash, it is an injection of opportunity."
The Justice Secretary announced the first strand of the CashBack for Communities scheme on January which will see over £2.2 million of the proceeds of crime providing free football coaching and playing opportunities for upwards of 30,000 people.
This latest strand will use £3 million seized from criminals to fund a grant scheme for youth projects and youth organisations in all 32 local authority areas of Scotland.
The grant scheme will be open to bids from local groups and partnerships for:
- funding for projects, particularly in areas of multiple deprivation, which fill gaps in provision and will deliver agreed outcomes for young people and groups of young people
- funding for organisations which support young people involved, or at risk of involvement, with violence, alcohol, drugs and/or antisocial behaviour
The money will be distributed, based on the percentage of population aged 10-19 and the percentage of those aged 10-19 in the 15 per cent of the most deprived areas. The distribution will be as follows:
Aberdeen City £91,000
Aberdeenshire £81,000
Angus £43,000
Argyll and Bute £40,000
Clackmannanshire £40,000
Dumfries and Galloway £61,000
Dundee City £122,000
East Ayrshire £82,000
East Dunbartonshire £39,000
East Lothian £31,000
East Renfrewshire £34,000
Edinburgh, City of £220,000
Eilean Siar £10,000
Falkirk £69,000
Fife £185,000
Glasgow City £680,000
Highland £84,000
Inverclyde £83,000
Midlothian £33,000
Moray £27,000
North Ayrshire £94,000
North Lanarkshire £224,000
Orkney Islands £10,000
Perth and Kinross £51,000
Renfrewshire £100,000
Scottish Borders £37,000
Shetland Islands £10,000
South Ayrshire £50,000
South Lanarkshire £176,000
Stirling £40,000
West Dunbartonshire £82,000
West Lothian £71,000
YouthLink Scotland will administer the grant scheme. There will be two applications stages, with the first running in April/May 2008 with decisions taken by May 2008. The second stage will take place in August 2008 with decisions taken by mid-September 2008.