If You Are A Taxpayer, Are You Happy To Help Out In Such A Way?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/500581/Welfare-squads-to-target-problem-families-costing-UK-30bn

/// After the 2011 riots, David Cameron pledged to help “turn around” 120,000 ­problem families.The latest initiative will target a further 400,000. ///

/// The troubled families initiative is a major expansion of the £448million programme established after the riots exposed the damaging impact of families described as an “underclass”. ///

[Old_Geezer]

Any ability to change a problem citizen into a contributing citizen, has to be good. But they need to keep an eye on the costs and amount of success; and not simply continue where it's not proving cost effective.

[Gromit]

Saving the taxpayers £30billion sounds like a good idea. What's not to like?

[DTCwordfan]

If costs are kept under control, yes - and if cost savings are taken elsewhere, like the NHS. For example, I had to input personal details eight times from entering hospital to the op-theatre, even including when being on the gurney for anaesthetic, the crew explaining that they weren't even hooked up to the NHS system.....twice or thrice I can fully understand, but eight times - big savings there if my case is an example. Second one - how many opticians are hooked up into the system too - VisionExpress and the hospital here are always tripping up over themselves as to my mother's eyes, never mind the hospital getting it all wrong too - so much duplication and confusion - come on , make such savings and use them on the front line for dementia, pensions, and targets such as this campaign.....

[DTCwordfan]

and medical research too, as well as a host of diseases, just to be clear.....

[agchristie]

I met Louise Casey in 2006 when she oversaw the Labour Government's Respect programme. She is a very capable minister. Good luck to this scheme, costs on the face of it look huge but the all round end benefit should outweigh this.

[andy-hughes]

Absolutely.

I am fortunate to have grown up in a family with more than the basic ideas about running a home and caring for children.

There are thousands of families who simply never had those skills passed on to them, because their parents didnt't have them either, leading to a massive vicious (literally!) circle which needs to be broken.

As long as this is a genuine far-reaching policy, and not a sound-bite to appeal to voters, then i am delighted if my taxes are used to unlock this spiral of despair, for humanitarian reasons first, and financial reasons second.

[anotheoldgit]

andy-hughes

Perhaps they should teach parenting skills in our schools?

[sp1814]

Seems like a sensible idea.

However, it will be difficult to gauge the success of such a scheme. It would have to take a very long term view and encompass a wide variety of metrics.

[andy-hughes]

AOG - "Perhaps they should teach parenting skills in our schools?"

I don't think it's as simple as the concept of parenting skills, which are difficult to teach in abstract terms to pupils too young to grasp the issues at stake.

I think society as a whole needs to grasp that unless we educate children from nursery age onwards about self-respect and tolerance, then society will continue with its ongoing deep-seated issues.

Of course, as I have banged on about an infinitum, nursery education is a minimum wage occupation for young women with vague ideas of liking children - it is not afforded the importance, respect, and funding that its essential impact requires.

That goes towards the government's obsession that everyone wants to go to university - so they fund that instead, to the cost of society as a whole.

Until education from the bottom up is appreciated, respected, and funded properly, we will never be able to educate future generations into fixing the issues that drag us all down on a daily basis.

[andy-hughes]

sp1814 - "However, it will be difficult to gauge the success of such a scheme. It would have to take a very long term view and encompass a wide variety of metrics."

And therin lies the problem.

No government is going to invest in the sufficiently long-term plans for education that are needed, if they can't see appreciable returns within the lifetime of their parliamentary tenure.

The notion of spendng for the future so that future generations will benefit is far too philanthropic for any politician to consider. If it's not sexy, and it won't gain votes next time there is an election, then it's off the agenda, sharpish!

[Mosaic]

Parenting skills are indeed taught in schools, as part of the syllabus covered by pshe and citizenship. Trying to help problem families sort their stuff out does indeed cost - but not as much as the alternative.