Meeting of the Parliament 08 November 2023
I welcome the motion and share its commendation of the cashback for communities programme. Over its 15-year history, it has developed to become more sensitive to the needs of young people, families and communities across Scotland, including those in the north-east. It acknowledges that there are not two watertight compartments of people—criminals and victims. Injustices, inequalities and experiences of trauma impact on individuals in ways that can leave them harmed, harming or often both. It recognises that crime of all kinds has the most devastating effects on the most marginalised communities, on people living in poverty and in areas of multiple deprivation, and it realises that intergenerational trauma and adverse childhood experiences have a huge impact on who is most vulnerable to the behaviours and situations that we commonly describe as crime.
Some of the most inspiring projects are those that share the creative arts to build young people’s confidence, imagination, communication and other skills. They include cashback for change, which is delivered by YDance in Angus and Dundee, and the move forward project that is delivered by Station House Media Unit—or SHMU—in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, which develops skills in radio, film and music.
Other activities support young people to develop skills that may help them find employment, including projects such as Barnardo’s fit for work, which operates in Aberdeen and Dundee and now also in Moray. Although many of those projects focus on those who are at risk of being brought into the criminal justice system, others address the needs of those who are already caught within its structures. That means supporting young people who have been incarcerated and helping them to build their wellbeing and develop essential skills in preparation for their release. The passport cashback project, working in Polmont, has helped young people with readiness for their lives after incarceration. The keeping families together project, delivered by the Cyrenians in Montrose, helps young people in secure care to rebuild relationships and return to their family homes.
Although much of the work is delivered by large, well-known partners, it is equally important that the fund also supports smaller grass-roots initiatives. I was pleased to see that the youth work fund redistributed through YouthLink Scotland has benefited local providers including the Kirrie youth project, RockSolid Dundee and Aberdeen Foyer, as well as enabling the give us a break partnership pilot project in Dundee. I hope that that local aspect can be expanded in the years to come, especially in supporting projects that are led or co-produced by young people themselves.
Cashback for communities is an encouraging example of what Scotland can do well within our devolved powers, but it is not a complete answer to the deep-rooted problems that it tackles. It works, as it should, with individual young people, their families and communities. However, that work needs to be complemented by policies that address the structural causes of adverse childhood experiences and intergenerational trauma—causes that include child poverty, inequality, and service and resource shortfalls. It also needs to be underpinned by robust and enforceable children’s rights, as well as continued reform of a criminal justice system that too often punishes young people for their economic and social situations.
Finally, I note that the funding source of cashback for communities sanctions certain kinds of crime but does nothing to redress some of the most damaging harms: environmental, corporate and institutional injustices that destroy health, happiness and hope. I commend the programme, but I urge us to look further and deeper to a shared future where, as well as giving back to communities, we can better protect them all, including the young people, in the first place.
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