Meeting of the Parliament 08 November 2023
I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am an ambassador for Ocean Youth Trust Scotland.
I am pleased to speak in the debate because I believe that the Parliament should be very proud of the cashback for communities programme. Now in its 15th year, the programme is unique to Scotland and demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to supporting our young people to live full and healthy lives and to addressing some of the underlying causes of crime.
As the motion says, the cashback for communities programme invests money that is recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in positive activity that supports young people’s wellbeing and helps to build their confidence and skills.
Since its inception, the programme has committed £130 million to support around 1.3 million young people across Scotland, including in my Greenock and Inverclyde constituency. The cashback for communities programme delivers many things for young people, including diversionary activities and community-led opportunities.
I want to touch on two projects in particular in my Greenock and Inverclyde constituency: the Greenock Morton Community Trust and Ocean Youth Trust Scotland. I thank Beatrice Wishart for her comments on OYT Scotland. I am hugely proud of both organisations and the outstanding work that they do. They engage with a wide range of young people, including those requiring diversionary activities, carers, and younger people and younger children who are getting active—to name just three examples. Inverclyde is extremely fortunate to have both those organisations, which enrich my community. I have sponsored events for them both in the Parliament in order that more people realise what they do, and their excellence remains high.
As the cashback for communities programme has shown, diversionary work does actually help to reduce antisocial behaviour by focusing on prevention, early intervention and improving the life chances of young people. Sadly, children and young people from deprived backgrounds are at greater risk of being involved in antisocial behaviour. However, that does not preclude such behaviour occurring in affluent neighbourhoods or the involvement of children and young people from more privileged backgrounds. That highlights the flexibility of the approach of the cashback for communities programme.
However, especially in areas of deprivation, it is important that projects that are funded by the programme focus on delivering a range of trauma-informed and person-centred services and activities. That demonstrates why the programme is so valuable, in providing our vulnerable and disadvantaged young people with access to opportunities to help them to achieve their potential. Many of the activities are things that those young people would never before have dreamed of doing. Those opportunities are sometimes not afforded elsewhere, either.
That is where OYT Scotland, in particular, excels. It supports young people from across Scotland to take part in life-changing residential voyages, with the aims of helping them to develop new skills and moving them on to positive destinations. As I touched on earlier, the OYT has been in Parliament before. In 2018, the event was about celebrating its on course with cashback programme, which involved cashback for communities groups embarking on sailing voyages, including pupils from Inverclyde academy and young people from Port Glasgow’s i youth zone. It was a pleasure and a privilege to invite the charity, its partners and some of the young people who have been involved in the programmes to the Scottish Parliament to showcase the wonderful work of OYT Scotland.
OYT Scotland has been a cashback for communities partner for three phases of funding . I am delighted that, from 2023-2026, it will receive £475,000 for its on board with cashback project, which expects to work with 248 young people over that period.
I could go on, but I know that time is short and that I am about to close. The cashback for communities programme certainly helps to change lives for many people across the country.
16:16