All upper-tier authorities sign up to 'troubled families' programme

All eligible upper-tier local authorities have agreed to take part in the Government’s Troubled Families programme, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced.

Under the payment by results model, councils can receive a payment of £3,900 for the following outcomes:

• More than 85% attendance in schools and fewer than three exclusions from school;
• A 60% reduction in anti-social behaviour across the whole family; and
• A 33% reduction in youth offending.

There will also be a payment of £100 per family for progress towards work such as referral to the Work Programme or the European Social Fund provision for troubled families.

Alternatively there will be a payment to the local authority of £4,000 where one adult in the family moves off benefits and into continuous work.

The Department for Communities and Local Government said local authorities and their partners would have to make up the remaining 60% of the average £10,000 cost of a successful family intervention.

The £448m budget for the scheme is drawn from seven Whitehall departments.

The DCLG said the funding under the programme would be available for five out of six troubled families in each upper-tier local authority, “to minimise double payment for the same outcomes”.

Ministers have said they want to “turn around the lives” of 120,000 families over the next three years.

Eric Pickles said: "It is great news that every upper-tier authority has agreed to run this programme in their area. The fast and unanimous level of take-up shows that the Government has got the confidence of local councils that together we can tackle a problem that councils have long grappled with.

“"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."

The Government claimed that troubled families put an estimated “£9bn drain on public spending, amounting to £75,000 per family per year, with £8 billion of this spent on reacting to, rather than getting to the root causes of their problems”.

Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said it was unsurprising that authorities had signed up the scheme.

He said: “Town halls have been clear about the importance of upfront funding and are therefore pleased the Government has listened to their representations. The only way to find savings in the long term is to make the initial investment.

“Make no mistake though, councils have been working closely with local partners for quite some time to put into action intensive intervention work. This isn’t a new approach but the degree of funding can help take this to the next level.”