By Richard Johnstone | 10 September 2013
The government’s troubled families scheme has successfully turned round the lives of 14,000 households in England in its first 15 months, ministers claimed today.
An update on the flagship programme also stated that councils have now identified 80,000 of the 120,000 families that Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to ‘turn around’ by 2015.
The Department for Communities and Local Government scheme is intended to help families whose are out-of-work, causing anti-social behaviour and whose children have stopped attending school.
Each is given a family worker, appointed by upper-tier councils, who acts as a single point of contact for families, working out their needs as a whole. Upper-tier authorities are then paid by central government based on the success of each intervention. They can receive up to a total of £4,000 once the children are back at school, crime is down and adults are attending back-to-work schemes.
Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said the fact that programme had already turned round 14,000 families showed it was on course to hit the target of helping 120,000 by 2015.
‘These figures show that our no-nonsense and common sense approach is changing these families for the better and benefiting the whole community,’ he said.
‘Considering the often longstanding and deep-seated nature of these families’ problems, it is a huge achievement to have turned so many around in such a short space of time.’
Cameron added that he is ‘determined’ to help people to get on in life, including those families where things may be going wrong.
‘For some, that starts with attending school every day, staying out of trouble with the police and taking practical steps towards work, just as other families do.
‘Every month more and more of the most troubled families are getting help to deal with these issues head-on. That is good for those families, their community and our country as a whole.’
