£200 million to help troubled families
Story date: 4 January 2012
The Government has announced a major new dimension of its plans to tackle the challenges posed by England's most troubled families. The initiative, which covers families in England with at least one person on out-of-work benefits, is being backed by £200 million in funding from the European Social Fund (ESF).
The new programme, being unveiled by Employment Minister Chris Grayling, is being delivered by a mix of public, private and voluntary sector organisations, with the majority of the work being delivered on the ground by local charitable groups. This follows on from the Prime Minister’s announcement on 15 December 2011 that he is to make turning around the lives of 120,000 of the most troubled families a top priority for the Government.
The Minister has appointed eight of the country’s leading welfare to work providers to work with the families on a bespoke programme of ESF funded support, which complements and adds value to the support being offered by Local Authorities.