Shropshire Council praised for working to support “Troubled Families”

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has welcomed the news that Shropshire Council has decided to sign up to the Government’s Troubled Families programme.

Mr Pickles said he was delighted that 455 families in Shropshire will get extra help to get children off the streets and into school, reduce youth crime and anti-social behaviour, and put adults on a path back to work.

The scheme is being run on a payment-by-results basis, with up to £4,000 available for every family that is successfully turned around.  This means that up to £1.8 million will be available to Shropshire over the next three years.

Keith Barrow, Leader of Shropshire Council, said:

“In Shropshire we will give the programme a local title that emphasises the positive nature of the work we will be doing to help and support people to turn their lives around.  This programme will very much be a partnership involving lots of organisations.  It’s early days and we are still working through the detail of what this programme will entail, but I am confident we can work effectively with our partners to really make a difference to people’s lives.” 

Under the deal Government will pay councils up to £4,000 per eligible family if they tackle the problems causing high rates of truancy, youth crime and anti-social behaviour, or put parents on a path back to work.  It is estimated that these families put a £9bn drain on public spending, amounting to £75,000 per family per year, with £8bn of this spent on reacting to, rather than getting to, the root causes of their problems.

The Government’s £448 million three-year budget is drawn from across seven departments in a bid to join up local services dealing with these families on the frontline. Under the scheme, families will each get a key worker who will help work though all of their problems and bring in specialist services as required.

A report will be considered by Shropshire Council’s Cabinet on Wednesday 4 July 2012 which outlines the initial work done to get the project under way in Shropshire.  You can view the report (item 8 on the agenda) by clicking this link.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said:

“It is great news that Shropshire has agreed to run this programme.  Together we can finally tackle a problem that has long been grappled with.  We cannot go on spending so much taxpayers’ money on such a small amount of families without turning their lives around once and for all.  This programme is a unique opportunity to do so.

“We now have an opportunity to offer real and lasting change for these families and the communities around them.  Everyone will benefit from getting kids off the streets and into school; getting parents off benefits and into work; and cutting youth crime and anti-social behaviour.  But it is also right that we will only pay councils in full if they deliver the results that we require.”

Further notes

The Framework Document for Troubled Families Funding can be found by clicking this link.