Linda Fabiani MSP has welcomed the award of over £58,000 for projects for young people in South Lanarkshire.

The money comes from the Scottish Government’s Cashback for Communities Scheme, which redistributes assets seized from organised crime to youth projects across Scotland.

Among the beneficiaries of the latest round of funding are East Kilbride Youth Consultation Group and Illuminati Music who have been awarded £7,125 to build an audio production facility at East Kilbride Universal Connections.

Welcoming the news, Linda said:

“Congratulations to the organisations who made successful bids for Cashback for Communities funding.

“The scheme ensures that something good can come out of the damage that is done to communities by the activities of serious criminals, by giving cash seized from those same criminals back to community-based clubs and organisations for young people.

“The projects which will benefit will give our young people the chance to get involved in activities they might not otherwise have had the chance to try or to access crucial information and training to help them in life.

“Imaginative projects such as the music and recording facility in East Kilbride offer genuine alternatives to young people who might otherwise have been at risk of becoming involved in crime themselves.

“That benefits the whole community, as well as the young folk themselves.”

Using funds recovered from the proceeds of crime, the Scottish Government has committed to investing over £13 million in a range of CashBack projects for young people.

Linda spoke in the debate on 17 December:

“Flexibility is important in ensuring that things keep moving forward. Locking the country into fixed spending in future years does not provide the flexibility for us to deal with the very big issues that are coming up. I only wish that Westminster would be a bit more flexible. I hope that the cabinet secretary and Iain Gray, leader of the Labour group, will keep lobbying Westminster for further acceleration of cash. Such fiscal stimulus is absolutely required. As we heard yesterday, we seem to be the only country in the G8 that is not looking for any kind of fiscal stimulus…

“The absolute fact of this budget process, which was reflected by the Finance Committee, is that no other committee proposed an amendment to the budget. No one brought forward an amendment on GARL, either—we are hearing a lot of empty rhetoric about GARL. There is no seriousness there. No alternative to the cabinet secretary’s proposal has been suggested.”

To read the full text of Linda’s speech, go to http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1217-02.htm#Col22285