Brighter Futures cross Irish Sea

The city of Birmingham's experience as a testbed for a comprehensive early intervention strategy, and the Social Research Unit's contribution to its design and evaluation were explained to Stormont Executive members, last week.

Unit director Michael Little and Tony Howell, Strategic Director, Children, Young People and Families in Birmingham were guest speakers at a seminar hosted by Barnardos and the Office of the Northern Ireland First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

It focused on how best to allocate public resources to improve the prospects of children and young people. Birmingham’s Brighter Futures strategy provided a case study.

Junior Minister, Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly said: "We recognise the very real benefits that can be realised through providing timely and targeted interventions, most importantly for the young people involved – but also for the economic benefits that be achieved by such practices."

His Democratic Unionist counterpart MLA Robin Newton said: "We realise that there are no quick fixes. We must raise awareness, at all levels, of the need to re-evaluate our spending. The cost of investment at an early stage can be much less than the cost of tackling problems, which may later emerge if action hasn’t been taken early enough."