Citizens Advice Youth Outreach
Order. I ask guests in the public gallery to leave the chamber quietly, please. The Parliament is still in session.
The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-07862, in the name of Jim Hume, on citizens advice bureaux-run innovative youth outreach projects. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament congratulates Scotland’s citizen’s advice (CAB) service on its work; notes what it sees as the success of the many CAB projects that reach out to and support young people in their community; believes that one of the best examples of this is Roxburgh and Berwickshire CAB’s highly successful Youthinfo@CAB, project; considers that this provides excellent work in offering free, impartial and confidential help and support to 16 to 25-year-olds in the Borders on issues that concern them, including money, housing, jobs and relationships; applauds it on being awarded an extension of funding, which, it understands, will allow it to continue into its fourth year; commends it on its principle of involving young people from the community directly in its governance and operations; believes that the success of the project is due not just to the hard work of those involved, but also to their imaginative use of many different ways of engaging with people, including face-to-face advice sessions, interactive workshops in schools and colleges and extensive use of information technology and social networking; welcomes the news that, thanks to funding from the Bank of Scotland Foundation, the project has now extended its area of operations to Roxburgh as well as Berwickshire, and believes that it is an excellent example of innovative work that enables young people to support and help others of the same age through the problems of life.
12:32
I am delighted to have secured this members’ business slot for two reasons. First, it is always a privilege for members to be able to lead their own debate in the chamber. Secondly, for some time I have been minded to utilise the next opportunity that arose to celebrate the outstanding contribution that the citizens advice service has made to British society and, more specifically, to highlight an innovative and successful project that is being run in my region.
It would be fair to say that, as parliamentarians, we all have a healthy regard for the work that citizens advice bureaux do around Scotland; I have often referred constituents to them due to the excellent expert advice that they can provide, free of charge, on issues ranging from legal matters to immigration.
Citizens advice bureaux have become woven into the fabric of British life, and their network of more than 3,500 advice-offering locations across the United Kingdom—250 of which are in Scotland—are pillars of the local communities that they serve.
Like many institutions that have gone on to have a profound impact on the UK, the CAB service was born out of wartime necessity. The day after war with Germany was declared, the first 200 bureaux were opened—run from private houses, public buildings and, in one instance, even a horse box. As is the case today, the service was dependent on the good will and assistance of volunteers. The casework of advisers back then was certainly different from today’s caseload, but it was no less important, of course. It ranged from issues with ration books and evacuation to locating missing relatives and prisoners of war.
It was during the war that the CAB service first gained its reputation for providing valuable support in advising people about their benefits entitlement and helping families to complete applications for all the wartime allowances that were available to them. Crucially, the CAB service’s experience of witnessing the distress that was caused by a delay in the processing of those applications led it to raise the issue with the relevant Government board of the day. It managed not only to speed up the process but to convince the board to open up more offices to process applications. Thus began the CAB service’s long and successful tradition of advocacy and of lobbying the Government—of whatever colour—and agencies to influence and change policy to the benefit of the people it serves.
Citizens advice bureaux have shown an ability to evolve throughout their 74-year history. Nowhere is that better demonstrated than at a project in my region that provides valuable advice on a range of issues to an often underrepresented section of society—young people. In May, I had the pleasure of visiting Duns to see at first hand the outstanding work that is being done by the Roxburgh and Berwickshire Citizens Advice Bureau. In 2009, the young citizens project was created, thanks to funding from the Scottish Borders Council fairer Scotland fund. The objectives of the project, which began in Berwickshire, were to provide regular confidential advice sessions for people aged 16 to 25; to attract, recruit and train young people to become volunteer advisers; and to liaise with local community groups.
I am pleased to say that the project has gone from strength to strength over the past four years. As a result of its success, it has expanded into Roxburgh, and it has undergone dramatic changes. Following consultation with a group of young people, the project has been rebranded as youthinfo@CAB. It delivers a youth-led service, with a steering group of young people from throughout Roxburgh and Berwickshire who direct the project’s aims and objectives.
The CAB now employs Sophie Charlotte Wild, who I believe is up in the public gallery. She is one of its former youth volunteers—she volunteered as a young persons adviser—and, along with Annette McGraith, the project leader, she works closely with local schools and colleges to raise awareness of what citizens advice bureaux deliver. Workshops have taken place at six high schools in the area. To date, more than 3,800 pupils have received advice, and 95 per cent of them said that they enjoyed the workshops.
That work has only been possible because of continuing funding from the Scottish Borders Council fairer Scotland fund and generous grants from the Bank of Scotland Foundation. More important, it is the tireless efforts of the CAB staff and the 31 young volunteers that continue to drive the project forward. I cannot mention them all, but volunteers such as Aaron Bolton and Aaron Millar, who run the bi-monthly Newsflash, which is distributed to high schools and colleges, have helped to secure nearly £700 in funding from a project called youth chex, and others such as Oscar McAndrew, Kyle Wilson and Jess McLean, who, alongside Aaron Bolton, comprise the project’s steering group, have helped to secure £4,500 in funding to produce a CAB awareness-raising video.
The success of the youthinfo@CAB project has understandably come to the attention of others. I understand that the Dalkeith CAB sought guidance from the project, following a successful application to the Big Lottery Fund to develop a similar service in its area. I also understand that the two other bureaux in the Borders—the Central Borders Citizens Advice Bureau and the Peebles and District Citizens Advice Bureau—are now interested in entering discussions to roll out the project Borders-wide, which would be a fantastic testament to the hard work of all those associated with Roxburgh and Berwickshire CAB.
I was delighted to welcome representatives of Roxburgh and Berwickshire CAB on a visit to the Parliament back in July, and I am pleased once again to welcome them to the Parliament this afternoon. I wish them well in continuing their good work, and I encourage people in other areas to consider rolling out similar essential youth projects.
12:38
I, too, welcome the debate, and I congratulate Jim Hume on securing it. I welcome members of the Scottish Youth Parliament from the Scottish Borders—they happen to be in the Parliament today, and I think that they are listening to the debate. I declare that I was once a volunteer lawyer who gave advice at a CAB. You see? Lawyers do give free advice sometimes—hold the front page.
The public, and indeed politicians, are not fully aware of young people’s need for free advice across a whole spectrum of areas. The inhibitions that we all share when it comes to asking for advice—let alone knowing that we need it or where to find it—can be worse for the young.
The outreach work that has been developed in Roxburgh and Berwickshire in the constituency neighbouring mine is very much to be welcomed. It is an excellent development, and I am delighted to hear from Jim Hume that it might be extended to other parts of the Borders.
I scanned the Citizens Advice Scotland website specifically to see what issues were on it. There is a myriad of them, and they are complex. I will quote from the page on “Young people and consumer rights”, and we will all learn something. The section on betting and gambling says:
“If you are under 18 you may not enter a public betting shop or gaming club. You can go into a licensed bingo club or other premises where bingo is played, as long as you don’t take part in the game. If you are under 18 you can take part in prize bingo at fairs and amusement arcades as long as the prize does not exceed £15.”
How do people know that? Who is to know that? It is so complicated.
Much to do with age and what is prohibited or allowed is very complex. Perhaps gambling is a serious issue, but let us take the more serious issue of firearms and other weapons. Again, there is guidance on the CAS website, which says:
“If you are under 17 you cannot purchase or hire any firearm. If you are under the age of 15 you cannot have in your possession an assembled shotgun unless supervised by someone of 21 or over, or unless the gun is covered with a securely fastened gun cover”—
I hope that members are still awake—
“that prevents it from being fired.”
Things are very complicated.
I do not use Twitter, but I use Facebook and other social media. It is important that the young can access that information, as well as outreach information, through social media.
Problems around access to benefits and housing are perhaps unfortunately more prevalent among young people now. Who knew that we would look to our 16 to 25-year-olds to have to know such stuff? When I left school just a couple of decades ago, I walked straight into a job. I was 16 and a half and had had enough of school. I walked along Chambers Street, knocked on the doors of four insurance companies and was offered a job at every one. Those days are gone. Unfortunately, straight from school or even university or college, young people have to know how to access benefits.
Young people have entitlement—wonderful. The CAS website has information on young people and benefits. However, it explains that
“Young people under the age of 25 are entitled to 20% lower Jobseeker Allowance ... payments”
and that they have lower benefits all round. Of course, I and, I am sure, many members in the chamber think that that is a scandal. Lower benefits are not an issue for older people or for people who suddenly find themselves unemployed.
Although some of the information to do with firearms, for example, is complex but necessary, the issues to do with young people, benefits, access to housing and rights are, regrettably, very serious. My colleague Alison McInnes, who is in the chamber, knows that, in the Justice Committee, we find the complexity of what can and cannot be done at different ages a mystery. It is time that that mystery was resolved.
Citizens Advice Scotland’s report “Being Young Being Heard: The impact of the recession on young people in Scotland” is an excellent document.
I thank Jim Hume for the debate.
12:43
I join other members in congratulating Jim Hume on securing time for the debate and on his very thoughtful speech.
It is appropriate that we recognise the work of the citizens advice bureaux and Citizens Advice Scotland. They deliver front-line, essential advice to many people, both young and old, in our communities across Scotland. With the serious cost-of-living crisis that people face, the numbers who are appearing at their doors is increasing exponentially. Apparently, there have been half a million new inquiries from more than 200,000 clients just in the past year, and the figures will undoubtedly go up.
Jim Hume rightly praised the work of Roxburgh and Berwickshire CAB. We have received a briefing on Motherwell and Wishaw Citizens Advice Bureau’s reachout project for young people, and members have spoken positively about their local services. I will join in, as I want to speak in equally positive terms about West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau.
Not content with providing advice on a range of issues, from out-of-work benefits to disability allowances, child tax credits and pensions—all CABx do that exceptionally well—CABx go further. That illustrates their creativity in responding to local needs, as has been done in Roxburgh and Berwickshire. They look beyond the immediate problem and focus on practical solutions. Their hallmark is that they work in partnership with others in our local areas to help some of the most vulnerable people.
I will give a couple of examples of what we are doing in West Dunbartonshire, starting with food banks. West Dunbartonshire CAB is at the forefront of organising and supporting volunteers for the food bank in our area. Staffed by volunteers, many of whom are young people, and working with the churches, the CAB has helped to organise food collections, bag packing to raise money to expand what it can do, and the distribution of parcels to those who are most in need.
The CAB has done those things because it has recognised that there is a growing need for the service in its area. We know that the numbers of people who use food banks have increased enormously. Figures produced by the Trussell Trust show that 4,500 families in Scotland used food banks a year ago, but the number has increased to almost 15,000. The trust provides only a proportion of those food banks, and we know that there are different local arrangements across Scotland. Of those who depend on food banks, about a third are children and about a fifth are employed. It is increasingly clear that we are facing a cost-of-living crisis—that is something that the CAB is taking action on, and it affects young people, too.
Then there is the CAB’s activity on payday lending. On our high street we have four payday lenders, which charge huge interest rates—in one case, rates in excess of 3,000 per cent. I sent my staff to check that figure again because I thought that there was a typing error, but it is indeed 3,000 per cent. Such rates suck people into a spiral of debt from which there is little real chance of escape. Some young people who are in work are having to go to payday lenders because, they tell us, the salary that they get, whether it is weekly or monthly, does not last as long as it did previously. It is just not going far enough, because their incomes have declined in real terms and the costs of basics have risen by some 25 per cent in the past five years.
Providing practical advice is important, but so is providing practical support for people in the community who are struggling, and that is where the reachout project in Motherwell and the youthinfo@CAB project in Roxburgh and Berwickshire come into their own, because they recognise the need for advice and support for 16 to 25-year-olds. Whether they relate to money, housing or jobs, preventative advice and information are critical at a time when unemployment is rising. It is difficult enough for people to negotiate what is a changing workplace, never mind a changing community.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to citizens advice bureaux and their volunteers, young and old alike. We thank them for their efforts on our behalf.
12:47
I, too, thank Jim Hume for bringing the issue to the chamber for debate. John Lamont is not available today, but he has passed on to me quite a lot of local information on the project.
Like Christine Grahame, in my past life, I was a volunteer at a citizens advice bureau. I volunteered for one afternoon and one evening a week for quite a long time in Cupar and St Andrews, so I too am well aware of the excellent work that the bureaux continue to do.
Like Jackie Baillie, who was given information about West Dunbartonshire, I was given some information about the CAB in Orkney. Although it does not have an identical project, it kindly gave me some information on its work, which is worth mentioning. It provides services to meet the needs of people who are financially incapable of managing their day-to-day finances, helping them to plan ahead and to know where to seek financial advice. Such people may have limited basic budgeting skills and find it difficult to make ends meet. The citizens advice bureau tries to tackle that early, before people go to the payday lenders that Jackie Baillie mentioned, by giving advice on how to avoid getting into unsustainable debt.
I was pleased to hear that the Roxburgh and Berwickshire CAB project has been used to highlight the benefits of volunteering. Registration with the Saltire awards, which recognise volunteering achievements by young people aged 11 to 24, is a mark of someone’s commitment to their community. Christine Grahame mentioned employment, and I think that employers would be interested in that—I certainly think that it is impressive.
Given that 77,000 young people in Scotland are not in education, employment or training, the project is a great help as it provides support and advice as well as raising awareness. The outreach surgery locations and publicity material are helpful and the project would certainly lend itself to being rolled out in areas such as the Highlands and Islands.
As Jim Hume did, I commend the project’s close working with the six local secondary schools, as well as its delivery of monthly outreach surgeries in Borders College. That work gives young people the opportunity to raise issues relating to cyberbullying and many other topical issues that are coming on to our agenda.
I was concerned to read that the new focus for the Roxburgh and Berwickshire project will be on planning its exit strategy if funding is not secured. Although we are good at identifying and praising good practice and achievements, we are not always so good at adopting good practice and rolling it out across the board. I hope that Roxburgh and Berwickshire CAB will identify the need for its service and, if it needs an exit strategy, I hope that it will be able to ensure that the needs of the many young people who benefit from the project will be met.
There is still much to be done to help young people into training, further education and work, and to help them with how to manage their money, benefits and housing, where appropriate. I fully commend the project, as well as the wider work of citizens advice bureaux. To be truthful, I think that there are probably similar projects in citizens advice bureaux throughout Scotland.
As I said, in my past life, I was a citizens advice bureau volunteer. I have nothing but praise for the training that Citizens Advice Scotland gives volunteers and the first-class work that it does, which is topical and responds to topical trends.
I commend Jim Hume for raising this excellent initiative in the Parliament.
12:51
I, too, thank Jim Hume for securing the debate. As he suggested, Citizens Advice Scotland is a national institution. Its work with people throughout our communities in Scotland has made it invaluable, and it is the first port of call for many people in crises. It is fair to say that its services, which are delivered by staff and well-trained volunteers, have rarely been more in demand. The challenges that are posed by navigating the ever-changing benefits system, and by stagnating wages and rising prices, mean that many more people need help from their local CAB.
Among its many important aims, Citizens Advice Scotland seeks to help the whole community to bring money into the local economy and to increase knowledge and skills. Although it helps many people who find themselves in crises, it also works proactively to equip young and old alike to help themselves better.
The innovative youth outreach projects that we are debating do just that, and I will mention some of the great initiatives that are taking place in Lothian thanks to Citizens Advice Scotland.
In partnership with East Lothian Council housing service, more than 900 young people who are currently in secondary 4 and 5 in high school will take part in a course called money matters, in which they will discuss and learn about the financial implications of living independently and being responsible for managing their own budgets.
When it comes to budgeting, the Musselburgh and District Citizens Advice Bureau application team—a group of young people—has come up with an app that helps clients to manage their money and keep on top of their personal finances. That incredibly useful device took them to the runners-up slot in the money for life challenge. It helps people to prioritise spending, to keep an eye on how much cash they have available and to better understand their own spending habits. It has been so well received that the team has been given a legacy grant from Citizens Advice Scotland and Lloyds Bank to develop the app further.
I am also pleased to learn that young enterprise sessions will be delivered to disadvantaged young people in East Lothian. Recently, Citizens Advice Scotland worked with young parenting groups on substance misuse issues, but I really like the fact that the young enterprise project is empowering. It gives each group of young people £150 to develop an idea—a product, service or event—with the aim of making a profit. Last year, 35 learners completed the course and every group successfully made a profit. The project develops the skills that are essential to enterprise and helps young people to learn more about starting their own business. Young people know best what appeals to other young people, and they are given a chance to explore and develop exciting business proposals.
At a time when household incomes have never been more stretched, it is essential that we equip our young people with the skills to use their money wisely. Citizens Advice Scotland wants all those who use it to feel that they have some control, and it strives to promote the experience and satisfaction of taking steps to help oneself. Those initiatives dovetail with the aims of the curriculum for excellence. Financially savvy, active and responsible citizens are in a better place to navigate the many challenges of student life, home life and working life, and to play an important role in their own families and societies in these challenging times.
I am sure that we have all referred constituents to citizens advice bureaux or called them ourselves to benefit from their expertise and experience, and that we have been enlightened by them when they have been called to give evidence to our parliamentary committees. Their positive policy and social development work is a valuable contribution to many of the issues of the day. Investment in their invaluable services is money very well spent. I, too, congratulate Citizens Advice Scotland on all its work and on the innovative youth outreach projects.
12:55
I congratulate Jim Hume on bringing this important subject to the chamber and I pay tribute to Citizens Advice Scotland and all the citizens advice bureaux across Scotland, which provide such an important service to thousands of people in the country.
The motion is about a particular age group in a particular place in Scotland, but the pressures that face people under the age of 25 throughout Scotland today are just as severe as, if not more severe than, those that are faced by the wider population. It is therefore vital to ensure that there are adequate services to meet their specific needs.
An important aspect of what Citizens Advice Scotland does is its research on a range of trends. Part of its recent research has told us that young people are finding it increasingly difficult to access the housing ladder and are coming into conflict with landlords and debt collectors more frequently. As we know, changes to benefits for young people are also set to continue, so the importance of advisory groups like Citizens Advice Scotland and the citizens advice bureaux across Scotland is becoming ever more apparent.
The project that is highlighted in the motion illustrates a new way of mainstreaming the work of Citizens Advice Scotland by using a medium that is familiar to younger people. What young people need as a minimum at this time is reliable and accessible information, and today we can celebrate the fact that independent services are responding to their needs, and we can live in hope that others will follow the example of best practice that we are discussing.
I am told that the youthinfo@CAB project ran for an eight-week trial period in the Jedburgh health centre on Tuesday afternoons, with financial support from the fairer Scotland fund and the Bank of Scotland Foundation. What is important in the setting up and running of the services is that young people informed the development, and they now take part in delivery of a drop-in centre solely for use by young people. What interests me is the fact that it is about disseminating information not just in a reactive way, but in a preventative manner. The CAB not only has drop-ins and information on its website, but engages with individuals of school age to ensure that when they move on to life as adults they are fully aware of the support that is available. The Jedburgh project is an exemplar that other areas of Scotland could look at carefully and benefit from copying.
In its report “Being Young Being Heard—the impact of the recession on young people in Scotland”, Citizens Advice Scotland highlights the magnitude of the challenge that it faces in provision of services in the future. As the report points out, young people are three times more likely to be unemployed than the average worker, and in Scotland alone the number of 18 to 24-year-olds claiming jobseekers allowance increased by 79 per cent after 2007. As we know, many are going to be required to engage in voluntary work in return for support, and all will be required to attend the jobcentre and prove that they have been looking for work on a daily basis, much of which now depends on access to digital services. All that puts people at high risk of losing support if they are not kept informed about their rights and what will be expected of them in the new benefits system.
With welfare reform, the need for services such as Citizens Advice Scotland will grow ever greater and more urgent. Parental support and an adult life that starts with state support as the sole source of income will be the lived reality for so many of the younger generation. Furthermore, greater numbers resorting to short-term lending is a very real possibility as the effects of austerity are felt, so it is absolutely vital that the consequences of engaging with payday lenders are made clear to young people.
CAS’s research also shows that young people are unhappy claiming benefits and long to find employment, but many are underclaiming the benefits to which they are entitled. The new project will give those youngsters the tools with which to navigate the benefits system with greater confidence and knowledge.
I join Jim Hume in congratulating the Roxburgh and Berwickshire Citizens Advice Bureau on its innovative project in the Borders, and in thanking citizens advice bureaux across Scotland for all the great work that they do.
13:00
As every other member in the debate has done today, I congratulate Jim Hume on securing this debate. We have heard some well-deserved praise for Roxburgh and Berwickshire Citizens Advice Bureau’s project to support young people. I would like to add to that chorus of appreciation my voice and the voices of members of the Scottish Youth Parliament from the Borders, whom I met earlier: Nicola Pringle, Finlay Duff and Scott Redmond all spoke positively about the work that the CAB does in the Borders and about the effective collaborative work that is happening in that area. I also reiterate the welcome that we have all given to the people from the CAB who are in the gallery.
The Scottish Government is behind Scotland’s young people, and fantastic initiatives such as the one that we are discussing show what can be done in communities to boost young people’s chances as they begin adulthood and find their way in the world. We are clear that the future of our nation rests in our young people’s hands, which is why we are doing everything in our power to give them the chance to flourish and to have positive and successful futures.
We make no apologies for having high aspirations for young Scots; we want them to aim high and we know that with the right opportunities and openings there is no limit to what they can go on to achieve. Projects such as the one in the Scottish Borders that Jim Hume has highlighted make a valuable contribution to that drive. By showing young people that they are not alone, by giving them help and support and by involving them in such community projects we can make a real and meaningful difference to their lives.
The project is another example of the sterling work that citizens advice bureaux carry out in communities across Scotland. We have heard today about many wonderful local initiatives from members, and I want to plug the Clydesdale Citizens Advice Bureau in my constituency, which gives valuable advice that I have seen first-hand. Such advice centres help families and people in need—often some of the most vulnerable people in our society—to address complex and difficult issues every day. Whether it is on debt, housing problems or benefits issues, the support that is given often prevents situations from spiralling into crises. That is part and parcel of CAS’s work over the decades, which Jim Hume outlined. He mentioned that that work has evolved from ration book advice to embrace social media and all the other modern technologies that can be used to get the right messages through to people who are in need.
As Alison Johnstone, Jackie Baillie and Christine Grahame correctly noted, we know that more and more people are going to bureaux for help all the time; it would be remiss of me not to point out that much of that is down to the harsh UK Government’s welfare reform measures, including the widely condemned bedroom tax. The Scottish Government has made abundantly clear its opposition to those measures, which are being imposed on hard-pressed families across Scotland. Such drastic welfare cuts can only exacerbate problems including child poverty and disadvantage, which afflict the lives of too many young Scots, as Malcolm Chisholm pointed out.
We are doing what we can to mitigate those problems’ impact, which is why we have committed £7.9 million of additional funding for advice and support services to help address the effects of welfare reform. That includes £2.5 million that is being channelled directly to Citizens Advice Scotland to fund a range of services to help people on the ground, while bureaux across the country are receiving additional allocations from the wider funding pot.
By strengthening those vital services in that way, we can allow them to expand and undertake new and innovative projects; the youth initiative in Roxburgh and Berwickshire CAB shows us that there is no shortage of ideas. People in the age group that the venture focuses on—16 to 25-year-olds—face a period of huge transition in their lives, which can often lead to feelings of isolation and uncertainty, which Christine Grahame mentioned as a theme in her speech.
I understand that the project gives advice on a range of issues, such as study, work, health, money management and housing—areas in which many young people will require a helping hand to steer them in the right direction. The project has two members of staff and has successfully recruited 31 young volunteers. As Jim Hume said, to date 3,806 students have taken part in its workshops. That is a phenomenal result, which shows the excellent impact that volunteers can have in our communities.
The fruitful links that the project has built up with high schools in Roxburgh and Berwickshire, as well as with Borders College, are very much in keeping with the kind of local collaboration that the Government is promoting between our education establishments and organisations in the wider community. It was great to hear this morning from members of the Scottish Youth Parliament about how that collaborative approach is bearing fruit.
Under curriculum for excellence, which is transforming learning for Scotland’s children and young people in an effort to improve their life chances, community learning and development has a key role to play. I have seen some fantastic examples of that across the Borders.
Scotland’s national youth information and citizenship organisation, Young Scot, is also undertaking excellent work to support young people through key transitions in their lives. Young Scot’s vision is for young people to take responsibility for changing our world and tackling social issues, so that they can grow up in a Scotland that promotes aspiration, enterprise, opportunity, inclusion and wellbeing. I think that all members who are present will share Young Scot’s inspiring vision. This year, the Scottish Government has committed more than £1 million to the organisation to support its work. As well as helping young people to become informed and active citizens who are engaged with their communities, Young Scot delivers its hugely successful national entitlement card, which is now held by more than half a million young people in Scotland. The card is the result of a hugely positive partnership between Young Scot, the Scottish Government, the Improvement Service, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and all 32 local authorities.
Just as Young Scot and the citizens advice project that brings us here today are, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that our young people are at the heart of everything we do. We want Scotland to be the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up. That is why we are breaking down the barriers that hold them back, including poverty, disadvantage and lack of opportunity. Through our getting it right for every child approach and key social policy frameworks such as the child poverty strategy, achieving our potential, equally well and the early years framework, we are driving a focus on early intervention and prevention to give our young people the best start in life.
As Alison Johnstone noted, curriculum for excellence is helping to ensure that all young folk can be successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens, and their needs are, of course, at the very core of our Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill.
Moreover, we invest more than £2.5 billion a year in post-16 education, training and student support. We have retained the education maintenance allowance, which has been scrapped for students in England. We have invested about £5 billion in colleges since 2007. Our opportunities for all programme guarantees an offer of an education or training opportunity for all 16 to 19-year-olds across Scotland who are not already in work, education or training. Youth employment is at its highest rate since the end of 2010 and, for the second year running, the Scottish Government has surpassed its target to provide 25,000 modern apprenticeships.
That record shows our commitment to the young people of Scotland. That commitment and ethos are shared by many organisations across the country that strive to do crucial work to support young people, including the Roxburgh and Berwickshire Citizens Advice Bureau. However, we recognise the challenges that exist. Partnership working is key; we must continue to work together to ensure that our focus never wanes, because Scotland’s young people deserve no less from us.
I thank Jim Hume and all the members who have participated in the debate.
13:08
Meeting suspended.
14:30
On resuming—