H&F one of four "Youth Innovation Zones"

Cllr Helen Binmore

H&F was named a "youth innovation zone", alongside only three other local authorities in the UK, yesterday in recognition of its efforts to seek and gain meaningful youth input into its service provision, according to Children & Young People Now magazine.

It will join Haringey, Knowsley (Merseyside) and Devon in the development of these innovative new pilots which aim to build on its successful youth commissioners programme which already involves young people evaluating existing service provision and making recommendations about how to improve.

Cllr Helen Binmore, she of Sure Start fame and Cabinet Member for Children's Services, said this:

"Hammersmith & Fulham is keen to involve local people in innovating and exploring better ways to provide services and that absolutely includes young people," lead member for children’s services Helen Binmore said. 

"We have led the way in redesigning our youth service based on the views of local young people. They are bright, enthusiastic and, of course, are the people who use the service. Their views have been hugely influential in rethinking how services are designed and run. 

"We are delighted to have been chosen as an innovation zone and it is a major endorsement of the success of our decision to move to commissioning all our youth services from voluntary and private sector specialists, rather than running projects ourselves."

Full marks to the Council on this - in light of the continuing inquest into August's riots but also at a time when youth unemployment is set to rise still further thanks to our chums in the banking sector these services are going to be ever more essential to developing and equipping young people to compete in an environment that is already incredibly tough.