THE director general of the national Troubled Families programme visited Worcester to find out about the support being offered to families in the county.

Louise Casey met with senior officers from a range of county services including police, fire, health, housing and district councils at a special event last Wednesday.

They discussed the current progress of the Stronger Families programme, and generated ideas of how services can work together to better support families in the county.

Funding is being provided to local authorities in England to work with 120,000 families to help them to turn their lives around by next year.

In Worcestershire, the Stronger Families programme will support about 900 families who have an adult on out of work benefits, children not in school or family members involved in anti-social behaviour.

The director general then visited one of the county's three social care pods to meet with families receiving support from the Stronger Families team and hear about the improvements they had made as a result of the programme.

"This visit was a great opportunity for me to meet those working hard to deliver the Troubled families programme in Worcestershire," she said,

"I was impressed by the determination of those working on the frontline and reassured that Worcestershire County Council remains committed to driving the programme forward and delivering real change for families locally.”

Councillor Liz Eyre, Worcestershire County Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said: "We are delighted that Louise could take the time to visit Worcestershire and see the progress we are making within our Stronger Families and Early Help programmes.

"It was a wonderful opportunity to get different services together with Louise to find out about the next phase of the Troubled Families programme, and discuss the best ways for us to work together to improve the support given to families across the county."