Youth Services

Liberal Democrats will work with young people to co-produce a Hillingdon Youth Charter, setting out what young people can expect from the council and what the council expects from them. The revitalised Hillingdon Youth Parliament (see: Education) will have a formal role in shaping its content and monitoring its delivery.

The council's own data shows that 43% of secondary pupils have no trusted adult to turn to. For those on free school meals, it rises to 64%. Young people without stable relationships are more likely to offend, more likely to become NEET, and less likely to thrive. 

• Liberal Democrats will ensure every young person in Hillingdon has access to a trusted mentor. We will expand targeted mentoring for those most at risk: children in care, young people on the edge of exclusion, and those known to youth justice services. 
• Liberal Democrats will work with schools, youth workers, and community organisations to make casual mentor support a priority. 

The council's own data shows a youth reoffending rate of 37.7%. Punishment alone is not working. Children in care are too often criminalised for behaviour that would be managed within a family home. 

• Liberal Democrats will hold the council to account for implementing the London Reducing Criminalisation Protocol and ensure that being in care is never a pathway into the criminal justice system. 
• Liberal Democrats will expand pre-charge diversion across the borough, ensuring that every child who could benefit from a community resolution or restorative intervention has access to one.

One in four children in poverty miss out on activities because they cannot afford kit, transport, or fees. 

• Liberal Democrats will work with schools, sports clubs, and arts organisations to create a Youth Enrichment Pass, ensuring every child on free school meals can access subsidised or free places in holiday clubs, sports leagues, and creative programmes.

Drugs policy should sit with health, not just enforcement. 

Liberal Democrats will support the government's move to treat drug addiction as a health issue and ensure local services (youth workers, schools, mental health teams) are equipped to offer early support, not just punishment.