Lottery fund offers a straight choice

SEVEN projects aimed at steering young children away from involvement in criminal activity and anti-social behaviour are to benefit from lottery funding.

The programmes across Scotland have been given the cash from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) to build on the work they are already carrying out to reduce first time offending.

They are among 25 UK-wide initiatives sharing in £25 million from BIG’s Realising Ambition programme, which aims to improve the prospects of young people aged eight to 14. It is estimated the seven initiatives working in Scotland will reach out to 46,824 children.

Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland chairwoman, said: “This funding has the potential to transform the lives of thousands of young Scots who are at risk of being drawn into anti-social behaviour.”