WIREDGOV

The Government has yesterday announced a new £200 million outreach service to help England's most troubled families. Run in conjunction with local authorities and the organisations delivering the Work Programme, the new service will help families with multiple problems overcome barriers to employment.

Minister for Employment Chris Grayling said:

"This will be a big part of the work we do to tackle the challenge of troubled families. The organisations taking part in this programme are staking their own money on their ability to turn the lives of these people around. "This is our second big payment by results project, and demonstrates clearly that there is a real commitment out there to deliver social change and to help people do much better with their lives. We now have a comprehensive programme, built on a partnership between national and local government, that I believe can make a real difference to these troubled families."

The programme will reinforce the work already being done by local authorities and the Department for Communities and Local Government, and represents the Government's second major move into payment by results for the delivery of public services. The organisations delivering the support will only be paid when they make real progress in turning round the lives of members of those troubled households.

The new programme 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 turning around the lives of 120,000 of the most troubled families is a top priority for the Government.

Using funding allocated to the UK from the European Social Fund, the Minister has appointed eight of the country’s leading welfare to work providers to work with local authorities and over 200 local organisations to identify and deliver the services and support needed. These providers will bring with them the expertise needed for the job and over 50% of the organisations are from the voluntary and social sectors.

Based on the same principles as the Work Programme, providers will be paid by results. The support offered will range from:

• Skills to help people find work such as CV writing, job preparation, timekeeping, problem solving
• Tackling family issues - support for parenting, role models, support for needs children may have, working with schools
• Social and economic issues - debt management, money management, how to look for work
• Health and housing issues - alcohol or drug abuse, working with health agencies, issues around accommodation
• Helping those who are in work to stay in work and progress
• Identifying suitable employment opportunities and helping people get into work
• Helping to move people into the Work Programme

Providers will work with the families to put together a bespoke programme of support, which complement and add to the support being offered by the local authority. Local councils will decide which families are referred to the support, as long as one member of the household is on benefits.

Note to Editors:

Companies delivering support are:

• Working Links
• The Wise Group
• G4S Care and Justice Service
• Reed in Partnership
• Skill Training UK
• PARAGON Concord International
• EOS
• Twin Training International Ltd

Providers are paid in three stages - when they have engaged an individual and got them to agree their own personal action plan, when that action plan has been completed and when they have moved into employment through the Work Programme.

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