A PROJECT to turn around troubled families is paying dividends in Bradford, according to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.

The Government-funded Troubled Families programme sees local authorities paid up to £4,000 on a payment-by-results basis for turning around households with multiple problems, such as truancy, crime or anti-social behaviour.

The programme is run in Bradford as Families First, and has so far worked with 1,760 families, turning around 1,178 of them.

Mr Pickles said he was delighted that so far, more than 69,000 families had been turned around across the country.

He said: “The Troubled Families programme demonstrates exactly what our long-term economic plan means for people: new opportunities for families to turn their lives around and make something of themselves; more economic security for local communities blighted by worklessness; and more economic stability for taxpayers, as we reduce the bills for social failure and get this country living within its means.

“It’s a triple-win, an amazing programme, and we’re going to extend its reach as far as possible.”