Hansard

I, too, am pleased to have been called to speak in this debate on the excellent cashback for communities programme. As we have heard, it was introduced by the SNP Government in 2007 and launched the following year and—I am happy to say—involves taking money that has been recovered from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and reinvesting it back in young people and the communities in which they live. Its benefit is twofold, in that it provides young people with worthwhile local activities, particularly but not exclusively in sport, and helps to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour by giving young people a different road to travel, instead of their being caught up, as a small minority are, in causing trouble in their communities. I believe that it is working to provide a different path that can make a key difference to the lives of young people who are desperate for real chances.

Although there has been some debate this afternoon about the Scotland-wide nature of the programme, I think that that is very important, because crime and antisocial behaviour are not limited to certain geographical areas. The programme does not discriminate on the basis of postcodes, but considers applications on a case-by-case basis to determine whether need has been established. That is only fair; after all, it must be accepted that young people in all parts of Scotland need a chance.

Football features widely in the sporting opportunities that the programme facilitates. As my colleague James Dornan said, cashback resources can also be used for girls football. Such projects might be less common at the moment, but I hope that that will not be the case in the future. In fact, cashback money is helping to fund Scotland’s only girl-specific football scheme—the girls football academy at Lornshill academy in Alloa, which is being piloted for the women’s section of the Scottish Football Association. The fact is that girls are already participating in football in schools across Scotland, and local authorities that I understand might have been a bit sceptical when the project in Alloa began are now considering setting up their own girls football academies. I very much look forward to that happening in the years to come.

Another sport that has attracted cashback programme funds in the wee county of Clackmannanshire is basketball. The unique jump2it programme, which is supported by the cashback scheme, provides education through sporting initiatives that are delivered to primary schools across Scotland by the charity Scottish Sports Futures. In addition to that scheme, the Glasgow Rocks professional basketball team has provided information on healthy lifestyles to primary school pupils, including over the past year 900 pupils at 16 schools in Clackmannanshire. Moreover, more than 300 youngsters in the wee county created more than 30 teams to compete in a regional tournament that was delivered by Clackmannanshire active schools and sports development team. Four teams of girls and four teams of boys won the exciting opportunity to attend a Glasgow Rocks game and, in fact, played their finals at half-time, with the girls’ winner being the team from Tillicoultry primary school and the boys’ winner being Abercromby primary school. Both teams were crowned Clackmannanshire’s jump2it champions.

Those examples represent the real stories behind the dry statistics of the cashback programme that some of us have got involved with this afternoon, and which are set out in the lengthy evaluation document. The real story behind cashback for communities is the opportunity that is provided to young people to realise their potential, so I congratulate Clackmannanshire Council on its 110 per cent enthusiastic take-up of the project, and I congratulate all the teachers and others who have been involved in delivering it.

Time does not permit me to discuss or to go into any detail on the other exciting projects that are going on across Perthshire and Fife. However, I will say that, further to an oral question that I put to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice last December, I am pleased to note that Fife has benefited from £1.3 million in cashback investment and more than 55,000 activities and opportunities for young Fifers.

In conclusion, I would like to say what a fantastic initiative the cashback for communities programme is. It is a credit to the SNP that it has ensured that this unique approach has been rolled out so extensively and successfully. At the end of the day, there can surely be no more important goal in life than to do everything we possibly can to ensure that young lives are nourished and that young people are nurtured so that they have confidence in themselves and can realise their potential.