(Minister for Rough Sleeping and
Housing): As required by the Welfare Reform and
Work Act 2016, section 3(1), today my Department has published
the fourth annual report, setting out how the Troubled Families
Programme (2015-2020) has been supporting our most disadvantaged
families who face multiple and complex problems. We are laying
this report today and will place a copy in the House of Commons
library. There has been a slight delay to the publication of the
report, due on 31 March, as my Department focused on the
emergency response to the Covid 19 pandemic.
The Troubled Families Programme has been at the heart of our
ambition to strengthen families and improve their futures since
2015. This year’s Annual Report details the Programme’s
performance for the period up to the end of March 2020, outlines
the changes introduced for the 20/21 financial year to allow more
families to be eligible for support, and clarifies how their
progress towards outcomes will be measured. The report was
drafted before the Covid 19 pandemic so does not reflect the
ongoing response from local government to support families during
this unprecedented time.
Improving families’ lives: Fourth annual report of the
Troubled Families Programme 2019-2020 details how the
Programme is driving a profound shift in the way that local
services respond to entrenched problems and support our most
disadvantaged families. Assigning a single key worker to each
family, backed by multi-agency partners and coordinated data,
this joined up ‘wrap-around' support works with whole families to
tackle the range of issues they face.
Over the lifetime of the Programme, local authorities have
supported 350,105 families to achieve successful outcomes,
including 30,000 adults who were helped into sustained
employment, although the Programme has worked with many more
families. These families faced multiple and complex problems
including a combination of crime, truancy, neglect, anti-social
behaviour, domestic abuse, poor mental health, worklessness and
financial exclusion. Every successful family outcome represents a
family’s life changed for the better – a considerable achievement
for the families and the local authorities supporting them.
Analysis to track family outcomes over time, and case study
research, indicates that the Programme delivered successful
outcomes by intervening early to prevent escalation to Children’s
Social Care. Analysis found that for every £1 spent on the
Programme it delivers £2.28 of economic
benefits (includes economic, social and fiscal
benefits) and £1.51 of fiscal
benefits (only budgetary impacts on services).
Analysis also suggests that the Programme is reducing the
probability of future interaction with the criminal justice
system, and the severity of offending, for adults and juveniles
who had been convicted or given a custodial sentence before they
joined the Programme.
The Troubled Families Programme has received new investment to
extend the Programme for an additional year. The additional
government funding of £165m will enable the current Programme to
continue until the end of 2020-21.
The refreshed Financial Framework for 2020/21 was published on 14
May 2020 and sets out the expanded eligibility criteria and an
explanation of the way in which local authorities should identify
and support families using a range of indicators.
‘Improving families’ lives: Fourth annual report of the
Troubled Families Programme 2019-2020 is accompanied
by a range of publications that evaluate the Programme’s progress
which can be accessed at Gov.uk.
These are:
Analysis of national and local data sets: part five
Staff Surveys - Troubled Families Coordinators: part four
Staff Surveys - Troubled Families Keyworkers: part four
Staff Surveys - Troubled Families Employment Advisors: part four
Case Study Research: part four
Family Survey additional analysis
