A report published last week by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) shows that Brent’s Troubled Families programme is making good progress.

The programme is a government scheme aiming to help troubled families turn their lives around.

It works with those dealing with a range of issues such as unemployment, domestic violence, crime, children whose school attendance is poor and families with health problems.

Figures published last week show that nearly one in five identified troubled families in the borough have already achieved good outcomes including adults returning to work after years of unemployment, young people making good progress and families feeling safer because incidents of domestic violence have stopped.

Only 13 per cent of other local authorities who started the programme at the same time have achieved similarly positive outcomes.

Cllr Mili Patel, lead member for children and young people, said: “Over the last four years, the Troubled Families programme in Brent has been able to make a real difference to the lives of some of our most vulnerable families.

“We are making good progress in comparison to other authorities across the country and I believe this demonstrates our commitment to working with vulnerable families to ensure they get the best outcomes for themselves and for generations to come.”