Anne Weinstock, director of the Supporting Children, Young People and Families Directorate, told Young People Now that if the concept proposed in the Youth Matters green paper establishes itself, all money allocated to statutory youth services could be loaded on to cards for young people to exchange for services.
"We are testing different ways for young people to be in the driving seat as users and shape the offer," said Weinstock. "Services must think outside the box. For example, youth services don't have to compete with the private sector; they could form partnerships with it."
It is understood that one statutory youth service is considering linking with a health club chain and the voluntary sector so young people can exchange card points for sport and leisure activities.
Weinstock equated opportunity cards to supermarket loyalty cards, in that authorities could use information from young people's card use to tailor services to local needs.
She didn't rule out the possibility that the cards would spell the end of statutory youth services in their current form, but emphasised: "Youth work and an integrated youth support service will continue to exist, and there will be legislation to underpin the things to do and places to go agenda."
But practitioners at a Youth Matters consultation event organised by Partnership for Young London, the capital's regional youth work unit, voiced concern that the cards could increase antisocial behaviour, widen inequalities between young people and drain funds from elsewhere.
Steve Sipple, head of youth and community service in Tower Hamlets, said: "We weren't convinced young people particularly wanted the cards. There was also a real fear we could end up losing other funding streams."
