Friday, December 16, 2011

Tory PM David Cameron's £448m Troubleshooting scheme for "problem families"

I am just throwing these thoughts out there in the hope that someone will engage with them. I will make this as easy and simple as I possibly can in the hope that someone will poke a hole in my argument if I have it all completely wrong (but I don't think I do).

In Liverpool we have had something we call Family Intervention Projects for several years now, actually we call them FIPs because in Local Government acronyms are King, but I digress.

We have been working with the NSPCC and with Domestic Violence Forums to support individual families who need extra help in order to grow and develop on a level and lawful path (that's my description not theirs).

These schemes, which have tremendous success rates were funded by the Labour Government directly to local councils, through something called the Area Based Grant, ABG, amongst other funding streams.

The Tory/LibDem coalition was quick to pull the ABG as one of its first acts and our FIPs are funded to a lesser degree now than they were.

I have been driving up and down the M6 for several hours today listening to the Radio and listening in particular to interviews with PM David Cameron and Louise Casey who is apparently to head this up for the Government (she of the Inclusion and ASB programmes for the Labour Government). And this is my question and my concern.

How does any part of what is being suggested differ in any way from what was already being done and if the Tory/LibDem Government thinks this is the way to go, then why did they already pull the funding that paid for FIPs (and put less back in than they took out, by the way)

Or am I missing something obvious?

No really, I mean it!! Please advise!!

1 comment:

scouseboy said...

That's good of Cameron, councils foot 60% of the bill from their already stretched budget as a consequece of his policies, but he takes 100% of the credit.