8/3/2019 111221 Letter to Angela Constance Signed

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Angela Constance MSP

Minister for Youth Employment

The Scottish Government

St Andrew's House

Regent Road

Edinburgh

EH13DG

19 December 2011

Dear Angela,

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The Scottish Parliament

Parlamaid na h-Alba

KD-19/12/11

Congratulations on your recent appointment as Minister for Youth Employment.

You will be aware that following the election of Johann Lamont to the leadership of my

party, I have been asked to shadow your post.

Hope and opportunity are at the heart of my politics and at the heart of the challenges

our country currently faces.

It is not simply enough to skill our young people, we must equip them with hope too,

thereby instilling an aspiration and a hunger for a better tomorrow. Such energy is

infectious and a powerful driver for social change. Once gone, it could be lost forever.

With 100,000 young people out of work and the numbers rising, the threat of another

lost generation is looming.

I do not doubt your willingness to address this but it is my duty to always encourage

you to do better. Please rest assured I will be robust but collegiate in this task.

You will know from recent debates that I have serious concerns about the capacity of 

the Achieving Our Potential agenda to really deliver. I accept and welcome a role for

activity agreements, but we cannot allow them to replace some of the established, more

intensive schemes.

I understand that later this week you will be visiting a Get Ready for Work scheme in

Musselburgh. I would strongly urge you to consider the differences between this

scheme and the experience of those on activity agreements. There is a place for both -

local authorities and delivery agents must have the financial and logistical room to

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manoeuvre so that they can tailor their provision to the needs of each and every young

person in their respective areas.

Denying a young person who is just a whisker away from being 'job ready' the

opportunity to complete a full-time, short term GRFW placement and replacing it withan activity agreement, which could be as little as two hours contact time per week, could

do more harm than good. Flattering the employment statistics will not be enough.

I wish you well in your new post but I am concerned the challenge you face is

insurmountable in light of the draconian college cuts that your government is imposing.

This will only exasperate the problem.

Along with my Labour colleagues, we will continue to challenge the logic of such a move

and hope the Scottish Government will seek to mitigate the effects of this self-inflicted

blow over the coming months.

We will also work constructively with you to achieve the economic growth we need to

create jobs for the future. Without this, many of your efforts will be in vain.

Scotland's young people deserve nothing less than the chance to make the most of 

themselves and their country through fulfilling and valuable employment. It is my

sincere hope that you prove so successful in your role as to make the need for it, and

mine, redundant.

Yours sincerely,