SALMOND ASKED TO BACK JOBS DRIVE

First Minister Alex Salmond was urged to "put his pride aside" and join forces with the UK Government to tackle youth unemployment.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Holyrood and Westminster needed to work together as he made the plea to the Nationalist leader.

Mr Clegg says Westminster and Holyrood Parliaments should work closer together.

Mr Clegg was in Scotland to promote the UK Government's £1 billion scheme to deal with the problem.

But he said the SNP administration had initially dismissed the Youth Contract, which aims to find at least 410,000 work places for 18 to 24-year-olds across the UK, with wage subsidies worth £2,275 handed to employers to take on 160,000 young people.

The DPM say that Scotland's First Minister should "put his pride aside"

The initiative, which gets under way in April, will also create additional work experience places while £50 million will be spent on helping 16 and 17-year olds into training.

The Government says the programme will see £100 million of benefit to Scotland, £18 million of which will go to the Scottish Government over three years.

Mr Clegg, meeting apprentices at double-glazing firm CR Smith's Dunfermline headquarters, said the initiative "provides hope, which is the most precious thing of all, to young people at the moment who are unemployed".

But he said that when the scheme was announced in November, the SNP's initial reaction had been a "very breezy dismissal".

He added: "I thought it was a very cavalier, careless immediate response to something which is really serious - I can't think of anything more serious than the future of our young people in Scotland and elsewhere."

But he said since then the Scottish Government had appointed Angela Constance to the new role of youth employment minister, and he now believed there had been "some indications that Scotland will play its part and put up its side of the bargain to make sure the youth contract works in Scotland just as well as it does in other parts of the UK".

The Liberal Democrat leader stressed: "It's very important we work in full co-operation with the Scottish Government.

"I know Alex Salmond and the SNP were very dismissive when it was first announced, I hope they have now looked at the details a bit more and are prepared to work with us co-operatively.

"I know Alex Salmond never likes to give credit for good ideas which are not his own, but I think it would be a good thing for the young people of Scotland if he could put his pride aside and work with us to give those opportunities, from April, to every single young person in Scotland who, at the moment, is sitting at home feeling a bit lost, a bit cut off, feeling demoralised, just at the time in their life when they should be full of optimism and hope."

CR Smith chairman Gerard Eadie hailed the Youth Contract as a "welcome step forward".

Mr Eadie says Youth contracts are a "welcome step forward"

Mr Eadie said: "It is the first initiative to truly recognise that it is employers that create jobs, not colleges or even government."

He recalled that as a 16-year-old school leaver he had started his career with an apprenticeship and added: "By the time I was 20 it had also given me my entry into business and means to start my own company. I've never doubted the good that it did me."

Mr Eadie argued apprenticeships were "crucial for future growth". He added: "We need a new army of tradesmen to help us out of our current stagnant economy."

A spokesman for the First Minister said: "The Deputy Prime Minister is entirely wrong - as the First Minister has made clear on several occasions, the Scottish Government is fully committed to working with Westminster to tackle youth unemployment in Scotland.

"While youth employment is higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK - 61.9% compared to 57.8% - and a third of unemployed young Scots are also in full-time education, youth unemployment in Scotland is a hugely serious problem.

"We announced the appointment of Scotland's first dedicated minister for youth employment last year - the only such government position in any of the UK administrations - backed up with £30 million of new resources, which represents an additional £12 million on top of the £18 million Barnett consequentials from Westminster.

"This is in addition to our existing initiatives - such as the 'Opportunities for All' programme to guarantee a training or learning place to all 16-19 year-olds, and the record 25,000 Modern Apprenticeship places being provided in each year of this parliament."



PA 2012

AMBULANCE STAFF REJECT BREAKS DEAL

Union members have rejected the latest deal to resolve a dispute over rest breaks for ambulance staff.

Currently, ambulance crews take unpaid rest breaks, during which the control room does not contact them.

But recent controversies - such as the death of Mandy Mathieson, 33, who had a cardiac arrest in Tomintoul, Moray, in 2010 - brought the policy into focus.

An ambulance technician was on a meal break and did not attend the emergency even though he was stationed near her home.

Last autumn, unions representing most ambulance staff in Scotland rejected a proposed deal for payment for working in rest breaks.

Union members have rejected the latest offer to reolve the dispute of break times

They were offered a lump-sum payment amounting to £4.80 per week to agree to be available during meal breaks and a payment of £100 on each occasion they are called out to respond to an emergency during an assigned meal break.

Emergency crews tested the proposals with a three-month trial period which started in October.

Union members were reballoted following the trial. Unison members have rejected the latest offer, with 65% of those returning a ballot voting against it.

Unison Scotland organiser David Forbes said: "This is fundamentally an issue of resourcing.

"Our members have been consistently telling us they need their uninterrupted rest breaks.

"They need to be able to switch off for a part of the day in order to deliver the best possible service for patients.

"We will be meeting with the employer on Monday and urging them to ensure that the ambulance service is sufficiently resourced to deliver the excellent service patients require and expect whilst allowing for decent treatment of staff."

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "A very good offer was made to staff and it is disappointing that this has been rejected.

"This is disappointing"

"We will meet with staff representatives on Monday to continue the dialogue in order to find a resolution."

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "This is disappointing - I have been very clear that I want this situation to be resolved as soon as possible.

"I am encouraged that a further meeting is due to take place on Monday and will continue to oversee all necessary action to ensure management and unions address this issue as a matter of urgency.

"I can confirm that the interim arrangements, which allow for SAS emergency tier staff to be disturbed during their rest break in the event of a 'category a' call, will continue until a longer-term solution is found. This is the best way to ensure that patient safety is protected."

Jackson Carlaw, Scottish Conservative health spokesman, said: "It is ludicrous that the unions have rejected what was a fair and reasonable deal. This is blind self-interest and the general public will find it incredibly hard to understand why these workers are having tea breaks when people's lives are at stake.

"When someone is suffering from a serious injury or critical illness they cannot afford to wait to receive treatment, and yet these workers are insisting that they be allowed time to finish their meal break. This heartless attitude is costing lives and Nicola Sturgeon needs to get a grip on this issue and thrash out a deal to prevent any further tragedies.

"While the fantastic work of our emergency service staff is always appreciated, this dispute has been dragging on for far too long and needs to be resolved."


PA