SCOTLAND is set to celebrate a global first in 2018 with the Year of Young People.

In another first, the year has been developed for young people, by young people. The initiative will support the SNP Government’s ambition to make Scotland the best place in which to grow up.

And local MSP, Kenneth Gibson, is hoping that it will help current schemes and said that the current SNP Government has:

Protected and expanded the Education Maintenance Allowance, expanded the number of Modern Apprentices in North Ayrshire from 446 in 2007/08 to 844 last year, an increase of 89.2 per cent and each one attached to a job; delivered more full-time college places than ever before and abolished Labour’s university tuition fees which are now £9,250 under the Tories in England and £9,000 a year under Labour in Wales.

Scottish youth unemployment is at its lowest on record, significantly lower than the UK’s, and youth employment is 4.7 per cent higher in Scotland.

Kenneth Gibson MSP said: “Scotland’s Year of Young People is a great opportunity to put the needs, views and interests of young people at the heart of government activity.

“The Pupil Equity Fund will increase from £120 million to £179 million next year and it has already helped to hire 506 more teachers. In 2017 the Pupil Equity Fund provided £4,392,000 in additional resources directly to North Ayrshire schools. Our abolition of tuition fees helped deliver the highest ever number of Scottish residents and record number of students from the most deprived areas going to Scottish universities in 2017.

“Unfortunately the UK Tory Government’s destructive welfare policies have slashed housing benefits for young people, pushed child poverty rates up by 30 per cent and they are forcing young people to live on poverty pay by refusing to support a national living wage for under 25s.

“The Year of Young People presents an opportunity for local young people in North Ayrshire to apply for Creative18 funding. This new fund is available to groups of young people aged 8-26 and applicants could receive up to £1,000 to organise an event during 2018. This could be anything from a concert, to a film festival, to a sporting competition or anything benefitting young people locally.”

Visit: https://young.scot/yoyp2018/ yoyp-articles/create18-fund/