Reacting to today's (18 February) announcement on the Scottish Government initiative on jobs for young people, the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Director of Conservation, Jonny Hughes said:

“This is great news for young people and the charitable sector in Scotland. Over the past two decades, the Scottish Wildlife Trust has both transformed the lives of young people and helped protect wildlife with the aid of similar employment initiatives funded by the UK Government. It's good to see the Scottish Government now stepping up to the mark. We hope the Community Jobs Scotland scheme will not only give young people struggling to find employment a better chance in life, but also create a community-based workforce to improve local greenspaces and the quality of Scotland's environment.

“Ironically, it is the SNP-led Scottish Government, and the Labour opposition with their proposals for a Scottish Future Jobs fund, who are actually taking practical measures to make the Coalition Government Big Society happen at the coalface.”