Local councils in England are on course to meet the coalition government's target for turning around the lives of 'troubled' families, according to the latest progress report.

The government has pledged to support 120,000 families by 2015 – by improving children's school attendance, cutting youth crime and anti-social behaviour, and putting parents on a path back to work. Local councils are rewarded on a payment-by-results basis.

In March 2013, after the first year of the three-year programme, local councils were working with more than 35,000 troubled families – up from 22,000 in December 2012. Councils had also identified more than 66,000 of the 120,000 families the government is aiming to reach.

Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles commented: 'The Troubled Families programme is on track to deliver life-changing results for families and communities across the country. Many services have been set up from scratch over the past year so it is remarkable progress to already be reaching a quarter of the families who need help to change. Troubled families are often living miserable lives and can also cause misery to the communities around them, draining around £9 billion per year from the public purse'.

Source: Troubled Families: Progress Information at March 2013 and Families Turned Round at January 2013, Department for Communities and Local Government | Troubled Families: Progress Information on Number of Families Worked with in Year 1, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Report 1 (spreadsheet) | Report 2 (spreadsheet) | DCLG press release | Action for Children press release | Inside Housing report | Public Finance report