Innovation in local government is about improving the lives of the people in our
communities. Browse through our case studies to see the many innovative programmes councils are involved
in.
A police-led pilot initially run in Tameside and Bury and now operating across Greater Manchester seeks to use police data in collaboration with youth justice services and local authority children’s services in order to make ‘invisible’ children in need of support, visible.
Cheshire Youth Justice Service have focussed on addressing young people’s unmet health needs to tackle reoffending. The creation of the Cheshire-wide youth justice partnership in 2017 highlighted inequalities in justice-involved children’s health provision, which they have worked to address, and are now taking an innovative social prescribing approach to meet the wider health needs of their youth justice cohort.
West Berkshire has been using a focus on engagement in positive activities, education, training and employment to prevent reoffending and improve outcomes for children working with the Youth Offending Team.
Four youth offending services across Avon and Somerset are taking a different approach to supporting young people displaying high risk and high vulnerability. They are working in partnership with their Forensic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and using a psychologically-informed approach that takes a longitudinal view of a child’s life experiences to understand their current needs.
Kirklees have taken a ‘right worker, right support, right time’ approach to engaging young people involved in the criminal justice system and affected by criminal exploitation. Their Youth Engagement Service brings together colleagues from various youth services and through their consistent engagement approach, has allowed Kirklees to provide support to previously unreached children who are at risk of offending or are already involved in the criminal justice system.
Multiple London Boroughs have come together and found new and innovative ways to work in partnership to solve the issue of children being remanded into custody in the capital.
The ‘Talk Community’ approach sees Herefordshire Council working in partnership with communities, businesses and residents to offer wellbeing advice, support and signposting to services.
This case study forms part of Shaping Places for Healthier Lives, a grant programme funding five council-led partnerships across England to build places that support good health for all. The programme is funded by the Health Foundation, delivered in partnership with the Local Government Association, and supported in delivery and learning by the Design Council and Cordis Bright/PPL.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council has built on links with partner organisations in the community to be able to offer a more holistic package of support to Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) moving into their area. This includes providing essentials to children and young people as they arrive, through to suitable accommodation as well as providing ongoing community support networks.
As the number and regularity of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) arriving in Sutton increases, the council have reviewed how best to support these young people in their community. The authority have looked at how the same high standards of support their social care team provides to all children and young people can be tailored to meet the particular needs of UASC.