Richard has welcomed the news that the government has announced the new Supporting Families funding allocation for local authorities across England in 2023–4.
Bedford Borough Council will receive £851,300 and Central Bedfordshire Council £807,533, in this latest round of funding to ensure skilled keyworkers continue to provide tailored support to the most vulnerable families in North East Bedfordshire.
Through the government’s Supporting Families Programme, vulnerable families are allocated a skilled local keyworker to help them to tackle issues they may be facing across housing insecurity, poor education attainment and substance misuse giving them tailored support to turn their lives around.
As this flagship government programme marks its tenth year, ministers have confirmed that £233.5 million will be allocated to 150 local authorities across England to continue the provision of keyworker support to some of the most vulnerable families in the UK.
This new funding boost builds on the £1.9 billion already invested into keyworker support by government over the last decade which has reduced the number of children on the programme entering care by 32 per cent, reduced the number of juvenile custodial sentences by almost 40 per cent and the proportion of adults on the programme claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance by 11 per cent.
Commenting, Richard Fuller MP said:
We have made huge progress improving outcomes for families but sadly there are still families struggling with insecure housing, substance misuse and other challenges.
That is why I am delighted the Supporting Families Programmes is being expanded into its tenth year so vulnerable families in North East Bedfordshire will benefit from a share of £1.66m of funding to provide tailored keyworker support to help them turn their lives round.
The programme directly helps families who are facing multiple and often overlapping vulnerabilities, such as: financial or housing insecurity, poor mental or physical health, domestic abuse, children at risk of harm, poor educational attainment or substance misuse.
The programme includes work to help people leave abusive relationships, access support for mental health issues and find work, for example.
The programme provides value-for-money, returning £2.28 in taxpayer savings per every £1 spent, through diverting families away from acute services such as children’s social care and the welfare and justice systems.
