Scotland’s Future

That the Parliament believes that over 100,000 young people unemployed in the country is a crisis for Scotland’s future and that an unemployment rate for 18 to 24-year-olds of 21.5%, higher in Scotland than the UK rate of 20.2%, threatens a lost generation in Scotland; therefore calls on the Scottish Government to produce an emergency response to the youth jobs crisis to include appointing a dedicated minister for youth jobs to get young people into jobs as recommended by The Smith Group, to immediately bring forward a procurement bill including provisions to create employment and training for young people, to expand the Community Jobs Fund into the private sector to take on the long-term young unemployed and to put in place a capital investment plan that supports employment and results in major projects proceeding without further delays; further believes that the Scottish Government should not proceed with cuts in college funding of 20%, which will only make tackling youth unemployment harder, and calls on all political parties in Scotland to make tackling youth unemployment a national priority using the significant powers that the Parliament has to secure a better future for Scotland and its young people.