Once again government attention turns to the issue of 'problem' families. The riots last year have ensured that 'something' has to be done. The numbers have been crunched and it's become accepted wisdom that the problem lies with 120,000 families that include about 320,000 children. Typically they are the long-term unemployed, live in poor housing and have health problems including drug and alcohol addictions.The cost to the tax payer is said to be a staggering £9billion.
The governments answer seems to be to have a 'whip round' of departments and the resulting paltry £448million will be used to 'incentivise' eligible Local Authorities to tackle this group. If they are successful in reducing truancy, police call-outs and anti-social behaviour, they will get more money. Apparently the government feels that a co-ordinated approach by involved agencies would be a good idea in order to offer such troubled families a 'helping hand'.
One of the things I find astonishing about this new initiative is the fact that historically dealing with this very group used to be a primary function of the Probation Service. After all, we were the professionally qualified social service specifically set up within the Criminal Justice System, and empowered with a wide remit to tackle many of the issues associated with 'problem families'. So what happened I hear you ask? Well the politicians got involved of course and as always felt they knew better, stripping us of our social welfare role and making us primarily concerned with punishment alone.
It's always difficult to prove cause and effect in social policy areas, but it can't have helped that during the period that we were being 'transformed', society began to wake up to a growing problem with these so-called 'problem families'. It's also worth pointing out the irony that during this period it was Local Authorities themselves that were allowed to contribute towards the stored-up problems we now face. I well remember the utter intransigence of my local Housing Authority towards any assistance for families that they regarded as 'undeserving.'
In my experience, the local council was the problem both in terms of housing allocation, housing management, social services and education provision. A huge chunk of my time was taken up with advocating on behalf of clients with councils who basically felt the answer to everything was to ASBO them and get them over the county boundary, Elizabethan Poor Law style. Well, I'm clear that the effects of this disastrous New Labour policy is now coming home to roost. The sad thing is that we no longer have that professional social work agency within the Criminal Justice System to deal with it.
I know it's a matter of taste - or is it class? But all this talk of the costs to the tax payer for these problem families - failed to mention the extensive cost to the tax payer of a certain family who have been enjoying an extended jamboree, for the last month, at the tax payers expense - just how much comes out of the defence budget every time those blasted plains/arrows fly over buck house? How much does it cost to maintain those aircraft every year? I would hazard a guess - enough to provide a lot of those families with a decent standard of living and maybe even a house!!!!! It's Shameful!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree in respect of the red arrows, poor deployment of RAF staff, and of course the millions it costs to keep then in the air, for those infrequent celebrations, ie certain weddings, births, tour de yorkshire, and the olympics etc.
DeleteHowever, the problem families issue, has always been with us, and in the last 10 years or so, various governments have set up schemes, run by fragmented and often under staffed and under resourced voluntary or private services.....I seem to recall one quite recently going to the wall - ran out of funding, they were called Addaction,and the 'troubled families' projects. Seems the same families remain a problem, irrespective of these interventions...the third sector, and private enterprise...oh, I am sure there is something going on, along those lines right now in my own service....wonder how that is going?
Can't agree about Red Arrows! Everything in life cannot be reduced to pure utility and the world's premier air display team ensure RAF pilots remain the best; they fly the flag for the country; for the UK aerospace industry; for RAF recruitment and give immense enjoyment to millions around the world every year.
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