Youth projects to share £17m seized from criminals

??A total of 17 organisations have been awarded a slice of funding as part of the Scottish government's Cashback for Communities initiative, which sees money recovered from criminals operating in Scotland invested into free activities and programmes for young people.

The funding will be used to fund employability and creativity programmes, sport and diversionary youth work in the hope that the attainment, ambition and aspirations of disadvantaged young people can be raised.

The Venture Trust, one of the beneficiaries, will use some of the funding to support a three-year vocational training programme designed to create onwards progression into work experience, volunteering, training and employment.

The Cashback Change Cycle programme will support more than 200 young people aged between 16 and 24 who are at risk of offending and face the prospect of long-term unemployment.

?The National Autistic Society will use the funding to support its Moving Forward service to help 300 young people with autism into work over the next three years. ?
 
Jenny Paterson, director of the National Autistic Society Scotland, said: "Just 32 per cent of autistic people are in employment - compared to 47 per cent of disabled people and 80 per cent of non-disabled people.

"Cashback for Communities will play a vital role in closing this gap by funding our employment support service in Scotland, which helps autistic people to prepare for work and employers to understand the condition."??

A  Scottish government spokeswoman said that once discussions about the detail of each project have been completed, they will be able to confirm the funding allocation for each organisation.

Other beneficiaries to receive funding, which has been collected through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, include the Prince's Trust Scotland, Action for Children, Barnardo's and YouthLink Scotland.
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The funding forms phase four of the Cashback programme, which opened for applications earlier this year, and will run from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2020. ??

Scottish Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: "We have already supported thousands of young people through our CashBack initiative, with £75m committed and nearly two million activities and opportunities offered since 2008. ??

"With this latest funding, we demonstrate our commitment to tackle inequality and keep young people active in their communities."