Tower Hamlets youth service secures top honour for second time

While 20 councils have been awarded the NYA Quality Mark, Tower Hamlets is only the second to have its award revalidated.

An NYA spokeswoman said: “They have not just met the standard once, but twice, and have continued to deliver a quality service to young people.”

The award was granted following a self-assessment and an NYA inspection that praised the council’s range of services for young people, as well its work to reduce teenage pregnancies and youth offending.

Dinar Hossain, Tower Hamlet’s head of youth and connexions services, said: “We were keen to show that despite the savings being made in central and local government, we’re still committed to providing our teenagers with the best facilities possible.”
 
Fiona Blacke, NYA chief executive, added: “This award demonstrates the commitment of the authority to delivering quality services to young people that are focused on local needs.”

The only other council to have its NYA quality mark revalidated was Rotherham, in 2011.

The award comes as Tower Hamlets prepares to take youth services in house after 11 years of contracting them out. Cabinet members agreed to the move when they met last month.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “We currently closely monitor youth service contracts and are experienced in providing services that meet local needs, as shown by the fact that our youth services are the first to have been revalidated and awarded a quality mark by the National Youth Agency this year. ??

“We want to build on the improvements we have made in the past decade, by having one single integrated service.”
 
She went on: “This is a model that has been employed successfully by other local authorities and by changing the way youth services are managed in the borough, will offer economies of scale and a more coherent offer for young people.”