BBC NEWSNIGHT POURS SCORN ON SALFORD COUNCIL 100% TROUBLED FAMILIES SUCCESS - Salford Star

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BBC NEWSNIGHT POURS SCORN ON SALFORD COUNCIL 100% TROUBLED FAMILIES SUCCESS

Star date: 9th August 2016

`IT ACHIEVED APPROXIMATELY NOTHING'

Last night, BBC Newsnight ran an exclusive story on how the Government's Troubled Families Programme, which was supposed to `solve' multiple problems for families involved in crime, truancy and unemployment, achieved "approximately nothing".

Salford City Council was singled out for claiming 100% success rate in the programme for `turning around' 835 families, for which it received an £800 bonus per family... "It's nonsense" said presenter Evan Davis.

Full details here...

Salford Council Troubled Families Programme

click image to enlarge

Salford City Council was last night singled out by BBC's Newsnight for claiming 100% success rate in `turning around' 835 families as part of the Government's Troubled Families Programme. The Council got an £800 bonus for each family it `turned around'.

Re-titled `Helping Families' by Salford Council, the Troubled Families Programme was introduced by the ConDem Government in 2011, with the noble aim of targeting families with multiple disadvantages.

Salford Council described the scheme as "focused, personalised support for the whole family that draws on the expertise of a multi-agency Team Around the Family and is co-ordinated by a person that the family trusts" – in other words, instead of different social workers, police, education workers etc buzzing around there would be one worker who would co-ordinate the diverse services in the hope of having an impact.

Nationally, £1.3billion was put into the Programme, with half a million people targeted. But Newsnight, in its exclusive report, got hold of a Government evaluation from last year which presenter Evan Davis said showed that the scheme "achieved approximately nothing"...

The Government evaluation stated that there was...

* No discernible impact on the percentage of adults claiming out of work benefits either 12 or 18 months after starting on the programme

* Participation did not have any discernible impact on adult offending

* No detectable impact on child offending

* Any impact the programme had on [truancy] was not robust

Chris Cook, Newsnight's Policy Editor, said that the whole notion of families being `turned around' was a "funny idea"...

"You can be deemed `turned around' even if your family still has kids playing truant and committing crimes" he added "just so long as they are committing a bit less crime and a bit less truancy than they were before..."

Local councils got £3,200 for each family on the scheme and a bonus of £800 for every one they `turned around'. Both Salford Council and Manchester Council were singled out for `100% success'... "It's not something you would normally see in social policy but is something you see a lot in troubled families" smirked Cook.

Genevieve Maitland Hudson, of Power To Change, told in the programme of the "huge discrepancies" between the results of the scheme that were published and what local authorities were revealing via Freedom of Information requests.

Even Shaun Bailey, Special Adviser to David Cameron, agreed with the Newsnight analysis, telling Evan Davis "local authorities were under serious financial pressure, so it may have seemed a way of bringing some new money into an area of their work... a social policy 100% success would be a first..."

Davis added "They were being paid for marking their own homework...it's nonsense that they'd turned around 100% of families..."

Of course the councils claiming 100% suited the agenda of the Government, as David Cameron announced last year "almost all of the 117,000 families we started working with have now been turned around"...

Davis poured scorn on this statement, as he accused the current Government of suppressing a new report into the Troubled Families Programme ... "Was he deluding himself or was he just trying to lie to us?"...

Meanwhile, there's questions for Salford Council to answer into how and why it claimed 100% success rate for the 835 families being `turned around'....

To watch the full exclusive Newsnight report see BBC iPlayer – click here

See also previous Salford Star article: G4S Takes Over Salford Troubled Families – click here

RayofSunshine wrote
at 09:55:33 on 15 August 2016

So Michael, you've got no hard evidence to back up your malicious rants! Instead you fall back on unverifiable anecdotes about "families you know!" Michael Felse, the post factual, post moral opportunist!

Mary Ferrer wrote
at 17:25:03 on 12 August 2016

Ray of sunshine.we don't know how many immigrants are in Salford.we don't know how many are in the country. But we do know all our major services are stretched to the limit. You can't get to see your doctor for days,sometimes weeks. There is a major shortfall of school places. Housing is now a joke. I know a family with 3 young children living in a two bed flat,that is within a complex for over 55s. The second bedroom is a box room with a window looking out on to the corridor. They have been waiting for over 12 months to be rehoused and nothing. Spend a few hours at st Mary's hospital,we spent months and see how the staff are run off their feet. And not meaning to be seen as racist see how many people who have family members there,who can't speak English and who need an interpreter that costs in the reagent of £70 per hour. I feel sorry for the poor people who come here for a better life.i would do the same if my family was in their situation. But we as a country are bulging at the seams. We can't cope.we haven't the resources. And we ALL will suffer.

George in Labour wrote
at 13:47:43 on 12 August 2016

My advice to RayofSunshine. Direct your question to our out of touch mayor. I voted for him but where are actions or answers our mayor promised. I blame the Tories for the UK immigration mess. 17 million voted to reclaim us borders, as I did. 300000 each year migrants into the UK means more cut in health services, housing, wages and clogging up legal aid offices. Tories are putting more Lords in to smash the EU exit. Westminster politicians never listen to us working class. MPs taking their long summer holidays to delay the exit must mean they intend to block the EU exit through the ouse a lords. What a sad day when we cannot trust an MP. Would you like to comment AndyB, you did get my vote or are you in it for the money like the rest of em.

RayofSunshine wrote
at 09:50:19 on 12 August 2016

So, Felse, what proof do you have that immigrants have jumped the Housing Queue in Salford? More generally what evidence is there that "native Sálfordians" have been denied access to Public Services because of immigrants? Finally, do you know approximately how many immigrants there are in Salford at the moment?

Mary Ferrer wrote
at 05:58:08 on 12 August 2016

Have I got this right.it was G4s that worked with these families.not social services. What feedback is there from who ever worked with these families. The government take money from councils,then come up with hair brain projects like this. But of course Salford council will say they have 100℅ turn around.think the inmates are running the funny farm

Michael James Felse wrote
at 18:14:42 on 11 August 2016

Allow me to make it absolutely clear to RayofDoom that I do not abuse nor have any hatred against immigrants. I say social housing waiting lists must be in line with traditional British queuing values. Local people have been neglected on lists for years and we must demand justice in allocation. The only people I have personal distaste for are rapists and pedophiles. These I believe should be expelled from any social housing list and chip-tagged 24/7. Well, me having been rapped at 9, 11 and 15 by different perpetrators I trust allows me a personal distaste.

white wrote
at 09:39:14 on 11 August 2016

From my reading of comments, George in Labour seems to have missed the irony in D Wright's comment. I may be wrong though, D Wright might be one of Felse's biggest fans, but I doubt it/

RayofSunshine wrote
at 09:39:07 on 11 August 2016

So Felse, "you have nothing against immigrants ". Pull the other one! 0ver the last few months you have used contributions to this site to leak a torrent of a abuse and hatred against immigrants. Your latest "pearl" -- suggesting that the GM Mayor should bar immigrants from Social Housing is a case in point! To my knowledge, most immigrants are housed in the Private Sector or are helped by families or the wider diaspora (look the word up,thicko!) Secondly, under current law it is illegal to use race/ethnicity or immigration status as a reason to bar individuals access to Social Goods,such as housing. Yet again,you are talking out of your arse,Felse! Y

George in Labour wrote
at 16:00:59 on 10 August 2016

I side with D Wright. Can't see why the salford opposition Tories do not adopt Mr Felse. He has guts and teeth. Not seeing any of the local Tories kicking up against my Labour lot. Are all salford councillors in the same worthless boat. Seriously thinking here about cancelling my direct debit if this is the best my councillors can do. Labour should realise they have to earn members £35 a year. I see disaster ahead. Mr Felse pls keep stiring up the crap.

Michael James Felse wrote
at 14:00:27 on 10 August 2016

Oh no not RayofDoom again making personal attacks. I have thicker skin than any Salford Councillor as you can see in truth getting through to sad lost Labour trolls. Was it Felse who cheated in reports? Was it Felse who failed 835 families in Salford or left an ongoing mess for good neighbours to endure while Salford's Councillors sat at tables sharing custard creams. No. I have done with softly softly politics and say it how it is. I have not a single problem with migrants, I do have issue with them taking social housing by que jumping. Salford has over 14,000 good citizens waiting for a home. In Greater Manchester the waiting list is 120,000. We must stop communities suffering, take back control of housing and bring in 65,000 jobs that can be won post Brexit. I want a Greater Manchester Mayor to instigate surcharge actions against Salford's and Manchester's Councillors that had any hand in the bad results seen in the NewsNight report.

D Wright wrote
at 13:59:52 on 10 August 2016

Oh, come on Ray of Sunshine. Give Mr. Felse a break. Without his demands, five so far this month, where would we be. Just study the effect these demands, urges and wants have had on our local government. It is only he that keeps those officials on their toes. It would surely benefit the Salford Star to give him a column all to himself so we can, more regularly, benefit from his wisdom.

RayofSunshine wrote
at 08:57:32 on 10 August 2016

Felse, yet again you are playing The Immigration Card to advance your own political agenda. You will never hold elected office in Salford! You are a deeply unpleasant and disturbed individual.

Michael James Felse wrote
at 08:45:49 on 10 August 2016

Well said Winston. I demand our Mayor Mr Dennett goes onto NewsNight to explain why Salford has failed. Or will he take a pay rise to show Andy Burnham how to sit on a fence, visa-vis.

RayofSunshine wrote
at 08:45:38 on 10 August 2016

Felse, you are a reactionary "toe rag" who will never hold an elected position in Salford!

Winston Smith wrote
at 07:31:52 on 10 August 2016

Yet more evidence of the Conservative/Labour Party Cartel. Conservative Government promise improvements, bung a load of money to a Labour Council who verify that yes, everything is now much better. Everyone's a winner apart from the public (as per usual)

wendy olsen wrote
at 07:31:28 on 10 August 2016

I know a woman who worked on this. She spoke about it warmly. Did they have any concrete evidence against it? I hate people in London using Salford people like a punching bag or some kind of circus. Who do they think they are. The govt method of seeking improved aggregate crime figures for a city of 250,000 when the intervention is on less that 1000 is just ridiculous.

Success rate wrote
at 16:30:05 on 09 August 2016

The 100% "success rate" will be the 100% success rate Salford council have had in claiming the additional £800 for each of the 835 families. That comes to £668,000 or six hundred and sixty eight thousand pounds. I'm sure they will make good use of the money, sticking it in the piggy bank for another loan to Salford Reds or as a present to Peel Holdings etc.

joseph.oneill wrote
at 16:28:42 on 09 August 2016

Surely again we see the serious issue of large funds being used with out satisfactory criteria being met. the policy would gain the support of any party but you have to be honest with wild claims of 100% success being issued alarm bells should be raised . Did the Government audit before paying the cash? who produced the reports? What of Budget Scrutiny or the opposition in council. It shows to me that labour have an easy ride the only people to suffer the General Public. These sums of cash are needed to cover areas that work not pie in the sky.

Michael James Felse wrote
at 16:28:18 on 09 August 2016

Now the truth emerges. Salford Council has been unfit, covering over their inability to provide solutions. Chucking money at our Salford Council has not brought better communities. We are to soon see housing policy go to a new Greater Manchester Mayor. NewsNight proves it must not be Labour or Con-Dems. It needs a GM Mayor to ban migrant housing que jumping, disgard problem families from all new social housing waiting lists and to increase Community Policing and Social Inspectors in the streets afflicted by those that lack respect for neighbourly decent lifestyles. The softly softly approach has ruined too many lives for good citizens is Salford that simply deserve better.

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