Youth Contract: War of words between Scotland and Westminster
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has urged First Minister Alex Salmond to join forces with the UK Government to tackle youth unemployment.
Mr Clegg was in Scotland promoting the UK Government’s £1 billion Youth Contract. Mr Clegg explained that the SNP administration had initially dismissed the Youth Contract which gets under way in April and which aims to find at least 410,000 work places for 18 to 24-year-olds across the UK, with wage subsidies worth £2,275 handed to employers to take on 160,000 young people.
The initiative will also create additional work experience places while £50 million will be spent on helping 16 and 17-year olds into training. The Government says the programme will see £100 million of benefit to Scotland, £18 million of which will go to the Scottish Government over three years.
A spokesman for the First Minister said: “The Deputy Prime Minister is entirely wrong – as the First Minister has made clear on several occasions, the Scottish Government is fully committed to working with Westminster to tackle youth unemployment in Scotland.
“… youth employment is higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK – 61.9% compared to 57.8% – and a third of unemployed young Scots are also in full-time education ….
“We announced the appointment of Scotland’s first dedicated Minister for Youth Employment last year [this is the only such government position in any of the UK administrations] backed up with £30 million of new resources.”
Comment
Its interesting that our politicians have time to politick argue the toss whilst Rome burns… what people want to see is change and real action not this incessant navel gazing, positioning and ‘one-up-manship’. The city doth burn….
