Fortunately, Jones has no regrets. He says: "It's very exciting to work with a group of people who are absolutely dedicated to unlocking the creative talent of young people, and have a genuine empathy for what young people want to do."
As chair, Jones oversees a fund offering grants of between 100 and 80,000 directly to 13- to 19-year-olds or to organisations, for youth-led media projects. It is run by a consortium of First Light Movies, the Media Trust, sector skills council Skillset and the UK Film Council.
Jones views this arm's-length model of delivery as the right one for young people who may otherwise be put off by government schemes. "If you talk to young kids and say: 'The Government wants you to do this', they would run a mile," he says. "This is a different way of trying to work with them, without the bureaucracy.
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