Funding of £18m for voluntary youth work

An £18 million fund has been opened to support voluntary groups that work with young people.

Organisations set up to encourage better physical and mental health or to teach new skills to young people are able to apply for grants between £10,000 and £100,000.

The Young Start fund was created with money from dormant bank accounts and is run by the Big Lottery Fund.

Since launching in 2012 the fund has awarded £29.5 million to 693 projects across Scotland.

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “Young Start helps ensure that Scotland’s next generation has the best possible start in life. I am delighted to announce this lat- est round of investment that will support young people across the country to realise their ambition.

“Over the last five years Young Start has funded a wide range of fantastic projects helping thousands of young Scots to achieve their potential. I am particularly pleased that, in the Year of Young People, they will be at the heart of project design and delivery.”

Big Lottery Fund Scotland chair, Maureen Mcginn, added: “We are delighted to be reopening the Young Start fund with a pot of dormant bank account funding that has the power to achieve great things for Scotland’s children and young people. The Young Start programme was paused last year, to allow us to review and reshape it, led by feedback from applicants, young people and the wider youth sector.”