MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Community, Leisure Services and Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee

Tuesday 15 July 2014

REPORT OF Head of Housing & Community Services

Report prepared by Ellie Kershaw 

1.           Maidstone Families Matter Programme Update

1.1        Issue for Consideration

1.1.1   To consider whether the Maidstone Families Matter Programme should be agreed as a review topic.

1.2        Recommendation of the Head of Housing and Community Services

1.2.1   That the Committee notes the contents of this report.

1.2.2   That the Committee continues to receive progress updates but does not select this as a review topic.

1.3        Reasons for Recommendation

1.3.1   Maidstone Families Matter is the local project name for the government’s Troubled Families programme. Across the country, this programme aims to turn round the lives of 120,000 families with multiple problems including; a family member out of work, poor school attendance or exclusion and anti social behaviour among the under 18’s. Kent has been tasked with working with 2560 families by March 2015, with 189 families identified in the Maidstone borough area.

1.3.2   Currently 180 families have been accepted on to the programme in Maidstone. These families were nominated by a range of partners including schools, the Community Safety Team, Community Wardens and Social Services. Of these families, 44 are currently working with a Family Intervention Project (FIP) worker who offers intensive support to the family for up to approximately 12 months, helping them identify barriers and learn new methods of coping with issues that arise.

1.3.3   The programme is fully funded by KCC, including the Programme Manager’s post until 31 March 2015. KCC receive up to £4,000 per family, part as an upfront attachment fee and part as a results based payment. The way this is split is shown below.

1.3.4   Across Kent 172 claims have been made to government for people getting back to work, and 583 for improvements in school attendance and anti social behaviour. Of those claims 73 were made by Maidstone, equating to 38% of the families on the Maidstone Families Matter programme. As a proportion of families, this is the second highest in the county.

1.3.5   The government is currently deciding what the programme will look like from 2015/16 onwards. What funding will be available and how KCC will distribute this should be known in November 2014.

1.3.6   Progress on the project is reported locally to the project sponsor, Zena Cooke, and has been reported to a project board consisting of county and district Members. The project board is currently under review.

Progress against the overall Kent programme is the responsibility of KCC, who run regular reports on the data to allow PBR claims to be made when the family reaches the criteria. KCC reports progress to DCLG.

1.4        Alternative Action and why not Recommended

1.4.1   The Committee could choose to take Maidstone Families Matter as a review topic. However, while work is ongoing with the families it is unlikely that this would be a valuable exercise. It should also be noted that much of the information for a review would need to be gathered from KCC officers and not MBC.

1.5        Impact on Corporate Objectives

1.5.1   The Maidstone Families Matter programme impacts on all corporate objectives.

1.6        Other Implications

1.6.1    

1.6.2   Funding for the project is  provided by KCC.   

1.6.3   The Community Safety Unit is a key partner in the project, as one of the criteria for the families we work with is anti social behaviour.

IS THIS A KEY DECISION REPORT?                  THIS BOX MUST BE COMPLETED   X     Yes                                               No     If yes, this is a Key Decision because: ……………………………………………………………..   …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….     Wards/Parishes affected: …………………………………………………………………………………..   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..