Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what definition is used under the Troubled Families programme for a family being turned around; and on what criteria a family is released from the programme.

Mr Marcus Jones

‘Turning around’ a family was a phrase used in the first Troubled Families Programme (2012 – 2015) and meant that real change was achieved to improve the lives of families in the programme:

• children back in school for three consecutive terms; AND significant reduction in youth crime by a third and anti-social behaviour by 60%

• OR an adult previously on benefits must be back in work for at least three consecutive months.

The new Troubled Families Programme (2015 – 2020) reaches out to families with younger children and a broader range of problems – including families affected by domestic abuse or with children in need. The new Programme has different criteria for claiming a results payment. Local authorities can claim results payments for families when they can demonstrate that significant and sustained progress has been made against every problem a family is facing, or that continuous employment has been achieved.