Hansard

After a long, hard day at the legislative coalface, it is nice to come to a subject on which we can find some consensus—and we can perhaps take a little enjoyment from it. It is a delight to be able to talk about the Arbroath CAFE project today; I congratulate Andrew Welsh on securing a debate in which we can discuss its achievements.

Since the CAFE project was established as a charity in 1996, it has been able to respond to and identify some of the needs of young people in the Arbroath area and has provided them with a real alternative to just hanging about on the street, which seems to be the preferred activity of many young people in other areas. The core facility at the drop-in centre offers leisure, culture, health, education and employment services. It also runs outdoor activities for young people aged between 12 and 25 who are at risk from exclusion, alcohol and substance misuse, and delinquency.

The dreams and teams project, which is mentioned in the motion, has allowed the CAFE project to become involved in something quite expansive. The CAFE project's involvement with the British Council in Germany has helped it become far more outward looking than was the case previously.

The street football for all scheme is an interesting concept, and I understand it better now that it has been explained by Andrew Welsh. As he went through the rules of street football for all, Andrew gave me one or two ideas about how we might sort arguments such as those that we heard here this afternoon. If we had introduced those rules on a moderate level here, they might have prevented some of the more outspoken comments that were made today.

I wish to highlight a number of key points about the CAFE project that I think can be learned from in other areas. Part of the success of the project to date comes from the fact that it does not have a top-down attitude towards its own management. Rather, it actively encourages the youngsters themselves to help manage the project. I pay tribute to the young people who have become involved in the project to that extent.

The project engages with and has the support of the whole community in the Arbroath area. It originated from the Arbroath and district crime prevention panel's open seminar on juvenile delinquency in July 1996, and has since attracted—and retained—the involvement of Tayside police, the Arbroath schools, Angus College, local businessmen, Angus Council, Scottish Enterprise Tayside and local health bodies. The involvement of such a cross-section of the community has been key to the project's continued success.

Although the debate focuses on the CAFE project, I take this opportunity to highlight the excellent work of a number of other youth projects in Angus, some of which I have visited. Andrew Welsh mentioned Oasis and PALS, which are also in Arbroath. I will add the success of Young Montrose and the work done there by Val Cooper. There is also the Zone in Carnoustie, which I understand is now up and running again, although it is still in search of volunteers.

I pay tribute to all those involved in the CAFE project, especially the many local volunteers who give up so much of their time to ensure that it runs smoothly and successfully. I wish the project every success in the future and have no doubt that it will continue to provide Arbroath and the surrounding area with a service that they are very lucky to have—a flagship service that I hope will be developed in many other areas of Scotland. I support Andrew Welsh in calling on the Parliament to recognise the success of the project.