111221 Letter to Angela Constance Signed
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Ang ela Const ance MSP Min ist er for Yo uth Emp loymen t The Scott ish Gov ernmen t St And rew's House Reg ent Road Edinburgh EH13DG 19 December 2011 Dear Angela, * .~ . . . I I I , I , I , I , , , , , , , I I The Scottis h Parliament Par lamaid na h- Alb a KD-19/12/11 Congratulations on your recent appointment as Mi nister for Yout h Empl oyme nt . You wi ll be aware that fo ll owing the el ecti on of Joha nn Lamo nt to the leader sh ip of my pa rt y, I ha ve be en as ke d to sha do w your post. Ho pe and oppo rt unit y are at the he ar t of my po li ti cs and at the he ar t of the chal leng es our co untry currently faces. It is no t si mpl y en ou gh to ski ll our yo ung pe op le , we mus t eq ui p th em wit h ho pe to o, ther eb y in st il li ng an asp ir at io n an d a hun ge r fo r a b et te r to mo rr o w. Su ch ener gy is inf ect ious and a p owerful dr iver for social change. Once gone, it coul d be lo st forever. Wi th 100, 000 young pe ople out of wo rk an d the numb ers ri si ng, the thre at of an ot he r los t gen era tion is loomin g. I do not do ub t yo ur wi ll in gness to addr es s th is but it is my du ty to al ways en co u ra g e you to do bet te r. Pl ea se rest as sured I wi ll be robust but coll egia te in this ta sk. You wil l kno w fr om r ec e nt de ba t es th at I ha ve se ri ou s co n ce rn s ab o ut th e ca pac it y of th e A ch ie vi n g Our Po te nt i al ag en da to re al ly de li ve r. I ac ce pt an d we lc o me a role fo r ac ti vi ty agre ements , but we cannot al low them to r eplace some of the es tabl is he d, mo re int ens ive schemes. I un de rs ta nd th at la t er th is wee k you wil l be vis it in g a Ge t Read y fo r Work sch eme in Musselb urgh. I would strongly urge you to consider the differences between this s ch e me a nd th e ex pe ri en ce of th o se on a ct ivit y ag re emen t s. The re is a pl ac e for bot h - lo ca l au th o ri t ie s a nd de l iver y ag en ts mu st ha ve t he f in a nc i al an d lo gi st i ca l ro om to
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Transcript of 111221 Letter to Angela Constance Signed
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,
*.~...I I
I ,I ,I ,I ,, ,
, ,, ,
I I
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,
