Boris launches Mayor’s Fund Robin Hood-fashion

In a typically outlandish speech, Major of London, Boris Johnson, launches his ‘Mayor’s Fund’ for the city in Shoreditch Town Hall. The charitable fund seeks to draw money from the rich and give it to the poor. (Thankfully, we didn’t see Boris in green tights…)

The plan is to invest £1.5million this year on pilot projects in the Shoreditch area, rising to £8million over three years in 2010, then expanding to other areas around London if successful. 
 
The intentions might sound a little too trite – tackling poverty, reducing crime, better connected services –who could complain? But, arguably, more needs to be done to find out precisely how children are developing in these areas, what specific difficulties they face, what specific strengths they have and more precisely what can be done to improve outcomes. All this detailed epidemiological work and service design is part of the plan; time will tell if enough investment percolates these critical stages.
 
The need for better data and lessons from prevention science was nicely illustrated by Boris Johnson’s speech. Aside from the startling figures regarding poverty and crime, he appeared equally dumbfounded by the fact that many children have never handled an ‘elliptical ball’ (we’re talking rugby here). He also said he thought boxing academies were a great idea. One would hope that robust outcome data may overturn these preconceptions.