Issue - meetings

On a motion from Councillor Paul Crossley, seconded by Councillor Paul May, it was

RESOLVED (unanimously)

Council notes:

1.  Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Connecting Families Programme has been in operation since 2013 and is part of the Government’s ‘Troubled Families Programme’.

2.  The Connecting Families team has worked with and tracked outcomes for 842 local families in the current phase of the programme and has recorded successful outcomes for 487 of these. This represents almost 70% of the Programme target of 700 families assisted.

3.  B&NES is currently ranked as the second highest performing authority in the country for this indicator.

4.  That intensive early intervention services are instrumental in improving the lives of local families and also lead to reduced costs and duplication of services for the Council.

5.  Local authorities receive funding for the Programme through a payment-by-results system.

6.  The second phase of the Programme is due to end in 2020 and no announcement has yet been made regarding the continuation of funding for the programme after this date.

7.  The resolution adopted by the Children and Young People Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel on 19 September 2017 supporting the continuation of the Programme.

Council resolves:

8.  To commend the Connecting Families team for their outstanding work in supporting local families, along with the volunteer support group Families Matter.

9.  To ask the Leader of Council to make further representations to Government, calling for the continuation of funding for the Programme in the context of the forthcoming comprehensive spending review.

10.To ask the MPs for Bath and North East Somerset to support calls for continued funding for the Programme and to invite them to receive briefings about some of the successes achieved through the Programme.