Military youth charities among beneficiaries of £45m bank fines

The Sea Cadets has been awarded £2.25m to replace boats such as ageing sailing dinghies to benefit more than 150,000 sea cadets over the next 10 years. ?

?The Scottish Cadets will also benefit from £500,000 in liber money to provide training to students through seven “Linked Detachment” programmes in Scottish schools until 2020.

?And £3.3m has been awarded to the Cadet Forces Qualifications to help deliver nationally recognised qualifications and support personnel training.?

Martin Coles, chief executive of the Sea Cadets, said: “This is a great signal from the government in recognition of our work with young people that it helps them to go on to achieve stronger futures through the skills, experiences and self-confidence they gain with us.

??“This money helps to deliver so much more than practical boating adventure - it enables us to help young people unlock successful pathways into adulthood, through the confidence they build through the experiences they secure as a result of being a Sea Cadet.”??

The money is part of £45m of banking fines announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the 2016 Budget last week to support military charities and other good causes.

??Other beneficiaries include the NSPCC, which will receive £1.84m to fund Service Centres in Tidsworth and Catterick Garrison Towns, to provide support with the particular challenges of Service life, and Miriam Hyman Memorial Trust, which will receive £82,000 to deliver a project for teachers dealing with the issues of extremism and terrorism. ??

Meanwhile the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity will gain £700,000 to complete fundraising for a fully digitally intraoperative MRI scanner to treat children with brain tumors.  ?

David Vernon-Edwards, director of The Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We can now complete the funding of the 3T MRI scanner and carry on our charitable work towards future projects in order to provide the best possible care for each and every child that walks, is pushed or carried through our doors.” ??

Other charities and projects to receive funding include:

• Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, which will receive £700,000 to support two appeals for children with rare diseases and undiagnosed medical conditions.

• Samaritans, which will receive £3.5m to provide help and support services to current service personnel, veterans and their families.

• We’ll Meet Again, which will receive £200,000 to establish a permanent interactive World War Two museum in Lincolnshire to deliver a unique learning experience to children. ??

• Brooklands Museum, which will receive £1m to complete fundraising for the Brooklands Aircraft Factory & Race Track Revival Project and to inspire future generations.

• Helensburgh Leisure Facility, which will receive £5m to co-fund a leisure facility for use by the local community, military personnel and their families based at HM Naval Base CLYDE. ?