Tag: Cashback for Communities

CashBack for Communities supports thousands of young people

Report highlights impact of programme

A programme funded from the seized assets of criminals delivered £6.2 million funding to support over 15,000 young people during 2024-25. 

The money has been used by Cashback for Communities to support 29 organisations delivering projects that divert young people away from anti-social behaviour and crime. 

A report into the second year of the programme’s three-year funding phase, which runs from April 2023 to March 2026, showed that after taking part in CashBack for Communities projects: 

  • 8,881 young people reported that they were less likely to engage in criminal or anti-social behaviour 
  • 7,049 young people reported they had reduced involvement in anti-social or criminal activity 
  • 11,810 young people reported an increase in their wellbeing 
  • 10,524 young people reported positive changes in behaviour 

Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown said: “This report highlights the success of the Cashback for Communities programme which helps to divert young people from crime and anti-social behaviour and to make informed choices about their future — choices that positively impact them, their families and communities. 

“It is more than an early intervention programme – partners provide a range of support and activities offering safe spaces, trusted adults and opportunities that benefit young people to feel supported and inspired to thrive.

“Since 2008, CashBack has committed £156 million to supporting around 1.4 million young people across all 32 local authorities.

“Cashback’s success is also testament to the work of law enforcement partners in disrupting organised crime groups – bringing them to justice and seizing their ill-gotten gains, using them to deliver a successful programme across the country.”

£26 million CashBack for Communities

Increased funding to help young people away from crime

Projects supporting young people at risk of being drawn into criminal activities are to receive up to £26 million over the next three years.

The Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities programme uses money recovered from seized criminal assets to provide crucial support to young people who may be at risk of becoming involved in offending or antisocial behaviour.

Successful projects in the programme’s next stage (2026-2029) will deliver a range of activities and support for those aged 10 to 25, to help tackle some of the underlying causes of antisocial behaviour and criminal activity. Projects will also provide access to trusted adults who young people can confide in.

Since 2008 CashBack for Communities has invested £156 million and supported around 1.4 million young people across all 32 local authorities in Scotland.

Visiting a project based at Glasgow’s Easterhouse Sports Centre, Minister for Victims and Community Safety Siobhian Brown said: “CashBack for Communities is inspiring. It turns the proceeds of crime into life-changing opportunities for the thousands of young people who take part in projects across Scotland every year.

“Over the course of the next three years of the programme, we are providing £26 million to organisations to deliver diversionary and support work with children and young people.

“By learning new skills and boosting their confidence, it helps young people in our communities who are at risk of becoming involved in crime be diverted from that path and realise their potential.

“Since its inception more than a million young people have received support to turn their lives around, with opportunities provided into employment, education or volunteering.

“CashBack’s success is also testament to the work of law enforcement partners in disrupting organised crime groups – bringing them to justice and seizing their ill-gotten gains, using them to deliver a successful programme across the country.”

CashBack for Communities is a Scottish Government initiative which takes funds recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and invests them back into communities. It supports delivery of Scottish Government’s Vision for Justice in Scotland.

More information on the CashBack for Communities programme.

Applications for funding open on 12 June 2025.

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CashBack projects support thousands of young people

A programme funded from the seized assets of criminals has supported 15,368 young people in 2023-24.

CashBack for Communities delivered £5.5 million to 29 partners in that period for projects that divert young people away from anti-social behaviour and crime.

A report into the first year of the programme’s three-year funding phase, which runs from April 2023 to March 2026, showed that after taking part in CashBack for Communities projects:

  • 7,440 young people reported positive changes in their behaviour
  • 4,318 young people reported that their anti-social or criminal behaviour reduced
  • 6,292 young people felt less likely to engage in anti-social or criminal behaviour
  • 4,954 young people gained an accreditation in furthering their development
  • 8,348 young people reported an increase in their wellbeing
  • 64,240 volunteering hours were contributed

Victims and Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown met with some participants who have been taking part in Scottish Rugby Union’s CashBack Community Rugby at Castlebrae Community Campus in Edinburgh.

The SRU’s programme works with young people most at risk of being drawn into offending or being involved in anti-social behaviour to help them resist pressure to take part in it.

Ms Brown said: “Supporting and encouraging young people to make informed choices is crucial for their personal growth and future success. The CashBack for Communities Impact Report highlights the positive contribution the programme has had on over 15,000 young people. 

“CashBack is an early intervention programme and its partners provide a range of support and activities which includes providing safe spaces, trusted adults they can speak with and a range of diversionary and support activities.

“Young people need our support and encouragement to make choices that allow them to develop their aspirations and potential, and we should rightly be proud of them and this programme.

“I had the opportunity today to see exactly how CashBack partners like Scottish Rugby Union work alongside young people to develop their understanding of the positive impact they can have on their communities.”

CashBack for Communities Impact Report 2023-24

More information on the CashBack for Communities programme.

CashBack supports 28,000 young people over last year

Criminals’ ill-gotten gains re-directed to support young people to make positive choices 

A unique programme funded from seized criminal assets has helped to provide new opportunities for more than 28,000 young people in the past year.

CashBack for Communities used £19 million recovered from criminal activity to support 24 organisations during Phase 5 of the programme, which ran from April 2020 to March 2023, to support young people, including those who may be at risk from being drawn into antisocial behaviour or criminality.

Projects supported included the Vow Project, run in partnership with Police Scotland, which uses peer mentors with experience of the criminal justice system to support young people to break the cycle of criminality and offending.

The Access to Industry project, which provides employability support to young people in HM Prison and Young Offenders Institution (YOI) Polmont, and Action for Children who support young people at risk of involvement in offending or antisocial behaviour, were also supported through CashBack.

A new evaluation of activity support in 2022-23, has found that of the young people who took part in projects:

  • 75% reported an improvement in their wellbeing
  • 75% reported an increase in their confidence
  • 59% gained new jobs, skills or qualifications

Since its inception, Cashback for Communities has committed up to £130 million to fund a range of projects, delivering more than 2.5 million activities and supporting around 1.3 million young people across Scotland.

Community Justice Minister Siobhian Brown said: “The success of the Cashback for Communities projects show what can be achieved when young people are given the right opportunities.

“It is important that we support and encourage young people to make choices that allow them to develop their aspirations and potential.

“CashBack for Communities is a valued programme that everyone involved should be rightly proud of.  I am grateful to all those who have helped to make the past three years such a success, and supported so many young people in such a positive way, particularly in a period impacted by COVID-19.

“For the past 15 years, Cashback has helped well over a million  young people across the country to find better futures.

“This unique initiative underlines our commitment to support all of Scotland’s young people to live full, healthy lives and to help address some of the underlying causes of crime and antisocial behaviour.”

Read the impact report 

22-23 Impact ReportDownload

£20 million Cashback for Communities

More than £130 million from proceeds of crime invested to support young people to date

Projects supporting young people are to receive up to a total of £20 million of funding recovered from the proceeds of crime.

The funding, which reinvests criminal assets recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act, aims to provide support to young people at risk of entering the criminal justice system and communities impacted by crime.

A total of 29 organisations are to benefit from the sixth round of the CashBack for Communities programme.

They include GMAC Film, who support young people to kickstart a career in film-making as well as the Venture Trust and Aberlour Child Care Trust who both support young people with employment and other opportunities.

The programme holds a particular relevance to GMAC Film’s Chair of the Board, Kieran Howe, who took part in an early CashBack programme with GMAC 10 years ago. This experience played a significant role in his personal development and helped kickstart his career in filmmaking.

Kieran Howe, said: “It’s rare in life that we experience these kinds of full-circle moments. CashBack quite literally changed my life as a teenager, putting me on a path for a successful career in film-making.

“Being able to return to GMAC all these years later, and assist the team in delivering this programme as Chair, fills me with tremendous joy, and hope for the future of Scottish film-making talent.”

Justice Secretary Keith Brown said: “To provide the best chances for their future, we should nurture all young people to fulfil their potential – through interventions which help reduce the risk of offending and that encourage positive behaviour.

“For the past 15 years, Cashback has helped millions of young people across Scotland to find better futures and reach their full potential and we know from first-hand experience the transformational impact the programme has had on young people’s lives.

“This phase of CashBack received more than 150 applications – the most ever – and our latest round of funding takes total investment in the programme to more than £130 million. This fund underlies our commitment to support young people to live full, healthy lives and help address some of the underlying causes of crime.”

Phase 6 of the CashBack for Communities programme will run from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026 with an increased overall programme budget of up to £20 million.

Organisations to benefit from the latest CashBack funding will be:

OrganisationGrant Award
*Aberlour Child Care Trust£480,000
Access to Industry£547,781
Action for Children£645,695
*Avenue Confidential£311,184
Barnardo’s£1,010,623
basketballscotland Limited£475,000
Bethany Christian Trust£264,658
Celtic FC Foundation£675,000
Cyrenians£805,017
*Edinburgh Young Carers£218,128
*Glasgow Media Access Centre Ltd£241,515
Impact Arts (Projects) Ltd£569,500
Mayfield and Easthouses Youth 2000 Project£284,543
Ocean Youth Trust Scotland£475,000
Police Service of Scotland£298,154
Rangers Charity Foundation SCIO£379,000
*RUTS£423,474
Scottish Football Association£1,570,000
Scottish Professional Football League Trust£624,507
Scottish Rugby Union£1,590,000
Scottish Sports Futures£1,451,077
Scottish Youth Dance£396,904
*Starcatchers Productions Ltd£245,538
Station House Media Unit£348,210
*Strengthening Communities for Race Equality Scotland –£207,810
*The Larder West Lothian£488,627
The National Autistic Society£675,000
*The Venture Trust£475,000
Youth Scotland£1,765,000

*new for Phase 6

Details on individual projects are being published on the CashBack for Communities website.

Paying the Price: £20 million in crime proceeds to fund community projects

Latest round of Cashback for Communities funding opens

Community projects are set to receive up to £20 million over the next three years to continue supporting young people and communities most affected by crime.

Since the programme began in 2008, Cashback for Communities has taken funds recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act and provided crucial support to around 1.3 million young people across all local authorities.

Cashback has funded a wide variety of projects over the past 14 years including sports, arts, youth work and employability which provide extensive opportunities to raise the ambition and aspirations of young people.

The latest phase of funding will guide those most at risk of being impacted by crime, to more positive destinations while also helping young people to improve their physical and mental health.

Justice Secretary Keith Brown said: “Young people growing up in Scotland deserve to have an equal chance of success, no matter their background or circumstances and CashBack plays an important role in providing young people with the tools they need to reach their full potential.

“The valuable feedback from young people who have benefitted from the programme helped inform this latest round of funding.  Participants reported that improving their mental health and wellbeing was a key priority for them due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which also links to our Vision for Justice in Scotland.

“This funding of up to £20 million will deliver a range of activities for young people between the ages of 10-25 and boosts the total funding made available to almost £130 million since the Programme began in 2008.”

Applications for Phase 6 funding now open

Cashback for Communities

Cyrenians’ Keeping Families Together project advisory board holds first meeting

Cyrenians Keeping Families Together with Cashback for Communities project works alongside Scotland’s secure centres to support children to escape the cycle of homelessness and residential care. The first cross-sector advisory board meeting was held yesterday.  

The Promise Scotland, published in February 2020, is responsible for driving the work of change demanded by the findings of the Independent Care Review and sets out an ambition for Scotland ‘to be the best place in the world to grow up’ so that children are ‘loved, safe and respected, able to realise their full potential’. 

However, at any one time in Scotland, up to 84 children can be in secure accommodation. The aim of such secure care centres is ‘to provide intensive support and safe boundaries to help these highly vulnerable children re-engage and move forward positively in their communities’. 

Yesterday, experts from across the sector, including Cyrenians, The Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice, Scottish Government, Aid and Abet, Police Scotland Violence Reduction Unit, University of Strathclyde, East Lothian Council, the Care Inspectorate and Good Shepherd Centre joined the first ever Keeping Families Together Advisory Board meeting to share best practice and ensure whole family support for those currently residing in Scotland’s secure centres, to help #KeepThePromise. 

The focus of the ‘Keeping Families Together’ Project is to support children and their families to rebuild relationships and return to the family home where possible.

Family contact has been highlighted as a specific area where more attention is needed for those in secure care and without support, the issues affecting families and children – whether the impact of earlier ACEs (adverse childhood experiences), low income and related stresses – can be left unchecked.

Communication can break down, and relationships can fracture, with devastating consequences for the child and the wider community.  

Kerry Watson, Service Manager at Cyrenians, said “At what can only be an enormously stressful and difficult period in a child’s life, it is only right that both the child and the rest of the family receive the support they need to maintain those relationships, and for the child, where possible, to return home with a positive route forward. 

“Bringing together experts from across the sector ensures that we are able to provide whole family support, meaning that any decisions made are in the best interest of the child, including returning home.”  

Dr Cara Jardine Chair of Keeping Families Together Advisory Group added: “The past year has added additional pressures with COVID impacting on family’s ability to visit and stay connected.

“It is imperative that as restrictions ease we focus on providing meaningful support that ensures the rights of the children we support are upheld and advocated for. By putting the child’s needs at the centre of any decision making process we will be able to break the cycle of inter-generational trauma, homelessness and disadvantage, ensuring more positive outcomes for all.”  

To find out more about Keeping Families Together, visit www.cyrenians.scot 

Aid & Abet: The VOW project

City police are looking forward to working with CashBack for Communities who will be funding their VOW project from April 2021.

The VOW Project is a funded initiative which aims to reduce offending and harm to people in Edinburgh. This is done by building positive relationships with those caught up in the cycle of offending and building a bespoke service for each person, to meet their individual needs.

The project is unique in that, in addition to plain clothes police officers, it makes use of inspirational peer mentors who have lived experience of the Criminal Justice System.

The team engage with and empower young people (aged 16-24 years) to break the cycle of re-offending and to pick up their shattered lives, by assisting them to make positive decisions and changes to their lives.

By having an open and frank conversation with the individual about their life, actions and choices, there is a much greater chance to break down barriers between the offender and the police and this greatly increases the possibility that the person will engage with the project and work towards reducing and hopefully ceasing their offending.

The peer mentors carry out initial interactions using their own life-experience and decide if the young persons are ready engage and to take the next step in moving away from their harm inducing behaviour.

Existing strengths, are gradually brought out, through the peer mentors building a rapport and a positive relationship with the young person in a safe environment. They are then assisted in making positive choices and together, a plan of action is established around support, resilience building, signposting to partners, training and in some cases employment.

The ultimate aim of the project is for the young person to be assisted in moving forward with their lives in a positive manner.

The VOW Project also deliver presentations within educational settings,to local youth groups, Care Experienced Young People and statutory and third sector partners, where they to talk about positive lifestyle choices and resilience.

Pictured: PC Graeme Buchan & Peer Mentor Kevin Neary

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