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Problem families scheme launched by David Cameron
Thursday 15th December 2011, 10:59AM GMT.
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Prime Minister David Cameron was in Oldbury today to announce plans to set up a national network of “trouble-shooters” to tackle the country’s hard core of 120,000 problem families.
Councils in the West Midlands were today given two months to identify thousands of problem families as part of a £448m project to tackle neighbours from hell.
He revealed that there were 1,000 such families in Sandwell living on benefits and costing the tax payer more than £75,000 a year each. The scheme will see individuals responsible for each family.
They will go into homes in the morning, making sure children are going to school, parents are able to work and insuring drug and alcohol addicts get treatment.
He said the funding would lead to greater savings by tackling the estimated £9bn a year that troubled families cost nationally.
Speaking at the Sandwell Christian Centre today Mr Cameron said: “Families see the system as faceless, intrusive and unhelpful.
“We can only act if we know where troubled families live.
“By February we want local authorities to identify who troubled families are, where they live and the services they use.
“The next step is to get in there to help.”
Mr Cameron said, however, that councils would have to fund 60 percent of the costs themselves.
It comes despite huge cuts in local government funding.
But the Prime Minister said he was determined to “get to grips” with the problems that families face and that the project would “make a real difference in homes and neighbourhoods across the city”.
Mr Cameron added: “We’re not prescribing a single response. But we are demanding results from councils in return for support. For many of the most troubled families, there will be a family worker – a single point of contact for the first time for particular families.”
Dudley South Conservative MP Chris Kelly was in the audience today and said: “I am very much looking forward to seeing this begin in Dudley.”
However West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson said: “Never mind problem families, what about the ordinary decent families who have to see their children attend dilapidated schools because David Cameron cut the Building Schools of the Future programme?”
By Daniel Wainwright
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BSD. Hay hoo – yes we all have family problems. Poverty, pain, hunger, lack of love, beatings etc. Yes we all have them.
In this very unfair society the poor do always suffer the most but in the UK we have social security to assist where it can.
As in other countries where real problems do exist you can have nothing! And all the problems – yes real problems.
In todays society some families think they can pass on their problems and burdens to anyone but themselves.
All parents need wake up and take care of their own families as no one else will. As the small steps taken today to control and discipline your children is a start to a brighter future.
All I can say parents made the childern, parents must be responsible, children must make their parents proud, they must use love to tackle all their problems.
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Wnt to know where families went wrong? Putting you lot in power!!
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these are labours kids remember labours tough on crime and the causes of crime policy children telling teachers and the police we know our rights
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They are also 21st century kids who have the power of the Eu rules and doo gooders backing them. Discipline went out the window years befor labour took power. I would say they could have done more..but as we are told frequently by politicians.. we will put it all right and then doing it is another thing when all the laws and rules come into play!
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You think drug addicts and alcoholics have only been around for the Last Labour governments reign?Tom watson is the only one who is correct on the issue.What do you think will happen when all these bad members of our society are dragged out kicking and screaming? There will be legal people out there and doo-gooders just waiting to say..” No you can’t do that”!!
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well as you say its been going on for years why in your first post did you say putting you lot in power they have been in power less than 2 years
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Because smelly this government is as useless as the last lot..probably even worse
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The majority of these ”problem kids” were born as a means to an end.
The, ”parent” and I use the word loosely, have learn’t that having kids will lead to bigger handouts from the state and free housing.
So throwing yet more of our money at them is NOT going to help.
You can’t expect unloved kids to have been taught the basics of being proper human beings.
The state has to take the blame for the culture they have allowed to build up.
These kids are unloved and unwanted, except for their monetary rewards.
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Neighbours from hell.. Downing Street, London?
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Tom Watson is a Labour MP who has a one-item agenda. Surprised he has time for mere constituents when he’s so busy trying to make himself look big in the NotW hacking enquiry.
Yes, sad to say I agree with Cameron trying to do something on this. Bring some structure and discipline to the lives of those unable to do it for themselves. Worth a try.
However, these families are likely to have no skills or qualifications so if you want them to become engaged with the world they need some sort of work. In this area during a recession where are they going to find the unskilled work they will need?
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The state is in no way a substitute for good parenting – parenting starts and ends at home. Your administration, Cameron, and that before you, is destroying the family as well as traditional family values. You pull stunts like this as propaganda exercises, nothing more. You’ve decimated a generation of their future, you’ve wasted £ billions on bankers, on war, and supporting the EU. You continue to do it. You stick your spoiled nose into public affairs like you know what you’re talking about when in reality it is people like you that WANTS to keep the rest of us in our place. Yet again you’re using this opportunity to demonise people on benefits, blaming all and sundry for the mess we’re in but yourself. I am GLAD I wasn’t in Oldbury to meet you and when, not if, you’re voted out it will be people like who will be there to celebrate. Problem family? You’re a problem government – the worst kind of neighbor imaginable.
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“He said the funding would lead to greater savings by tackling the estimated £9bn a year that troubled families cost nationally.”
This is flaming typical of the level of buck-passing taking place in this country. You spend over £40 bn on WAR – and you have made it so that you will spend that much for years to come. On the jobs front employers are losing more jobs than they plan to create. It’s recession after recession, and to cope with all this what do you do? Play the blame game. How do you plan to implement this agenda..WHERE is your OWN police force? That’s right, they’re closing stations at night. You only do this to bolster the Big Brother state, you simply do not live in the real world and you have never witnessed the real, long-term hardships faced by the people of this region. Caused by people like you and you damn meddling.
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It’s all you will get out of this government..recessions and more recessions. History always repeats its self.I remember the last Tory government. Nothing has changed.
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So that’s Labours answer then, with Labour controlling Government for 13 years, Labour controlling Sandwell for 30 years and we get
“Never mind problem families, what about the ordinary decent families who have to see their children attend dilapidated schools.
Sandwell let the schools rot for 30 years, bulldozed the rest then say its someone else’s problem
I didn’t hear these cries 10 years go and while there at it look at West Brom, thats another mess
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This region is an cultural, economic cesspit not because of people on benefits but because of government. A government that fails to take any responsibility for it’s own actions, and creates the situation you see today. The level of poverty and deprivation in this region is astounding, so is the level of bureaucracy in local and national government. Cameron does not have the capacity nor the intention to understand this area’s problems, irrespective of how much he can sugar-coat it. It’s people like this that go towards creating the disgusting slum this region is nationally renowned for. Don’t forget that.
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Typical of goverments past and present,throw loads of money at a problem and hope it goes away.Here a idea,reward hard working people instead!
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