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Troubled family culture revealed

An entrenched culture of abuse and welfare dependency of thousands of "troubled families" need to be fundamentally addressed to help them turn their lives around, according to the Government's adviser on the issue.

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Director of NIESR: Government distorts 'troubled families' data

The director of The National Institute of Economic and Social Research Jonathan Portes wrote a blog in February criticising the Government's approach to "troubled families". He wrote:

Under government criteria, a troubled family is one that meets five out of seven criteria: having a low income, no one in the family who is working, poor housing, parents who have no qualifications, where the mother has a mental health problem, one parent has a long-standing illness or disability, and where the family is unable to afford basics, including food and clothes.

What instantly leaps out from this list? It is that none of these criteria, in themselves, have anything at all to do with disruption, irresponsibility, or crime. Drug addiction and alcohol abuse are also absent.

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Troubled family culture revealed

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