Flagship programme struggles to turn around job prospects of troubled families

Analysis of the flagship programme’s effectiveness at tackling entrenched unemployment found 7,200 of the 76,000 individuals who were in receipt of out-of-work benefits and had been worked with under the scheme between April 2012 and July 2014 went on to get “sustained” jobs.

The analysis by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) also found that a further 7,200 people had started a paid job that had not developed into long-term employment.

The DWP data showed the 76,000 individuals lived in 66,100 households, and 14,200 were aged 18 to 24.

The findings will raise further questions about the long-term impact of the scheme and its ability to turn around the lives of those who take part in it.

Earlier this year, the British Association of Social Workers criticised the £448m flagship programme for failing to deliver “sustained change”. 

The DWP analysis also reveals latest figures on the number of vulnerable families worked with by local authorities under the programme. In the three months from April to June this year, the number engaged through it increased to 110,615, a rise of 13,413 from the previous quarter.

The government pays local authorities a sum of money upfront for working with families that are identified as having sustained social problems, such as being involved in antisocial behaviour and crime, being out of work for long periods, or whose children truant from school.