PM's pet project overlooks the need for skilled professionals

But the forceful trumpeting in the government rhetoric is in stark contrast to the measly reality. Just one or two families have been helped by the initiative, which the PM reckons is the answer to getting the 120,000 most "troubled" families into work. Rarely in the field of public policy was so much claimed on the evidence of so few.

For the benefit of those who have been hiding under a rock on a faraway island this summer, the programme relies on "family champions". Many of these would be volunteers - children's minister Tim Loughton, for instance, is signed up to be one. But aside from Tenacious Tim and perhaps a few other hardy public-spirited folk, would volunteers really be geared up to turn these families' lives around and get them into work? A disturbing blend of poor health, debt, dependency, alcohol and drug abuse inside these households awaits, while the jobs market remains bleak. These are the most chaotic, marginalised families in society. Getting them to care properly for their children, let alone find work, is a steep task.