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Item 3 is EU structural funds. Members will see a letter from the Deputy First Minister in their papers and will know that the Scottish Government agreed to update us about every six months on progress with European structural funds. Do members have any comments or questions?
I can only repeat what I have already said. I think that that encapsulates all our previous difficulties and that we can overcome them. It is important that we engage in the fullest way possible. Even if we just did that, that would go a long way to ensuring that we address many of the issues that we have not been able to address historically. I look forward to the support being put in place.
The Scottish Government has negotiated a good position in the UK on the matter, but I note that things cannot be finalised until the budget negotiations are finalised. Much depends on that, and we should note that.
My attention was drawn to the Deputy First Minister’s comment on the youth employment initiative at the bottom of page 4 of paper 2. A possibility for us to tackle high levels of youth unemployment in south-west Scotland might be opened up. I would be very grateful if we could do something there. The committee should keep a watching eye on how that might develop.
I echo Willie Coffey’s comments on the youth employment initiative. The committee should try to ensure that we get enough information to monitor that. Perhaps we could relay that to the Scottish Government.
We will do that.
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