‘Troubled Families’ Programme in England: ‘wicked problems’ and policy-based evidence

Abstract

This article outlines and critiques a key area of contemporary social policy in England: the Troubled Families Programme (TFP), launched in 2011. This is a national programme which aims to 'turn around' the lives of the 120,000 most troubled families in England by 2015. Troubled families are characterised as those who have problems and cause problems to those around them. Troubled Families can be viewed as a 'wicked problem' in the sense that the issues surrounding these families tend to be reconceptualised regularly and re-solved differently, depending on changes in government. The article critically reviews the evidence base for the overall approach of the programme and the way the scale and nature of the issue is understood. It debates whether this is a case of evidence based policy or policy based evidence. Early indications are that behavioural change is likely to be achieved in some families (increased school attendance, reductions in anti-social behaviour and crime), but that addressing worklessness (a key focus of the programme) presents the biggest challenge. An even bigger challenge is helping families to find work that will move them out of poverty. The article draws on ongoing research in two contrasting local authorities implementing the programme.

The Social Consequences of Brexit for the UK and Europe: Euroscepticism, Populism, Nationalism, and Societal Division

“…These have tended "to polarize UK social politics toward a focus for social action on poverty through the reduction, or empowerment, of excluded groups, conceptualized as reclamation of economically or morally participative citizens" (Hacking 2015: 111). An example of a recent approach to increasing social inclusion and promoting social cohesion has been the Coalition's Troubled Families Programme, which sought to help 120,000 identified "families with multiple problems" by joining up services in order to save public money and achieve better outcomes (Hayden and Jenkins 2014). The lack of success of a policy direction that favors initiatives such as these combined with deep cuts to public services suggest that neoliberal policy approaches have a role to play in fermenting the discontent that has given rise to populism and English nationalism, which are evidenced above as part of the Brexit vote.…”

Conceptualising ‘The Relationship’ in Intensive Key Worker Support as a Therapeutic Medium

“…There exists a growing body of evaluative studies and academic papers which provide information about the nature and effectiveness of this type of approach (Hayden and Jenkins, 2014;Batty, 2013;Mason, 2012;Parr, 2012, Flint, 2012Flint et al, 2011;White et al, 2008;Nixon et al, 2006). These studies have consistently suggested that 'effectiveness' for both service users and providers is bound up with qualitative features of interpersonal relationships.…”

The UK government’s imaginative use of evidence to make policy

“…The programme involves a massive 'roll out' of initiatives to intervene in the lives of particular families to (a) address anti-social behaviour, criminality, child truancy, and parental worklessness, and (b) prevent outcomes such as family eviction, by (c) providing support and threatening sanctions for nonengagement. It piloted programmes from the late 1990s and promised their expansion under Labour governments before the Conservative-led governments announced their massive expansion-to almost 120000 families from 2012-2015 and to 400,000 from 2015-as the solution to the 2011 riots in England (Hayden and Jenkins 2014; the third phase began in 2017-see Department for Work and Pensions 2017).…”