Unicef UK has instigated partnerships with six local authorities to enlist the help of young people in the design and delivery of services aimed at them.

The Child Rights Partners project will prioritise the most vulnerable children, including those living in care or poverty and young people affected by drug and alcohol misuse.

These children and young people will be encouraged to access and have a say in the design, delivery and evaluation of the services they use.

Each local authority – which are spread across all four UK nations – is using the project to deliver different types of service:

• Tower Hamlets is creating substance misuse services.
  Derry will focus on arts, sports and positive play.
• Glasgow will focus on two service areas: developing a rights-based approach to services for care-leavers and early years.
• Leeds will seek to improve services for looked-after children, ensuring that their entire journey through the social care system is rights-based.
• Neath and Port Talbot will focus on vulnerable families where the parents have drugs and alcohol, domestic violence and mental health issues.
• Newcastle will concentrate on child poverty alleviation.

Unicef instigated the contact with a wide range of local authorities – some of which were already engaged with other projects with the charity.  These six local authorities and Unicef then worked together on the partnerships.

David Bull (pictured), executive director of Unicef UK, said: “Public services have sometimes failed children and young people by not listening to their opinions and needs, so we welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with these pioneering local authorities.

“They have committed, in economically difficult times, to take a hard transformative look at the services they deliver to the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people. By putting child rights into public services in a tangible way, we hope to show we can radically change practice - and therefore outcomes - for the UK’s children and young people.”