The scheme receives 40 per cent of its funding from Whitehall departments, and the rest from local authorities. It pays councils on a payment-by-results basis to help entire families with multiple problems and hit key targets, such as preventing long-term truancy and getting adults back into work.
The next stage of the scheme includes incentives for police, health and social services to work more closely together. Speaking at the Communities and Local Government Committee, Louise Casey, head of the scheme, said: “We need police to get a grip and not think they can sit outside [the scheme], which is what they are doing in some areas.”
Communities secretary Eric Pickles said the scheme has received more funding because it is already ahead of its target for the year. “Going through the process of dealing with the Treasury – they’re not people of laughter and happiness, they’re not easy people to get along [with, so to] get this money we had to show them the kind of progress we’ve made,” he said.