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One year on from the publication of the Social Exclusion Action Plan, we have made some significant achievements across government.
As part of our programme to encourage innovative approaches to tackling social exclusion we have launched two pilots schemes and are supporting a third to reach those who are most vulnerable and have the most complex needs.
In June we announced the Adults facing Chronic Exclusion (ACE) pilots. 12 different projects across England were chosen to test different approaches at the local level that aim to help adults with chaotic lives. Work is now underway, jointly funded by: Communities and Local Government, Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and the Home Office.
Ten pilot sites went live with the Family Nurse Partnership [External website] project in April 2007. Highly trained nurses backed by a groundbreaking partnership between Primary Care Trusts and Local Authorities provide intensive health visiting for disadvantaged mothers. This initiative is based on the successful US Nurse Family Partnership and is led by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health.
Tendering is now underway for a number of Multi-systemic therapy [PDF 53KB, 6 pages] (MST) pilots. Each site will provide intensive intervention for families with children or teenagers with social, emotional and behavioural problems. The pilots will be led by the Department of Health, with support from the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Youth Justice Board.
The Task Force is conducting a Families At Risk Review into the multiple problems faced by the most excluded families in society. Our aim is to identify the barriers and solutions to a ‘whole family
’ approach to linking adult and children's services. In March we held three successful regional conferences to discuss key themes of the Review with stakeholders. The first stage of the Review ‘Reaching Out: Think Family’ was published in June 2007 setting out our interim analysis and themes. We are now in the process of developing policy proposals with stakeholders and other Government departments.
A new Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Services is to be established as a joint project with the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The aim of this Centre is to identify ‘what works
’ and to ensure that this evidence is used to raise standards in children and family services.
Another strand of work is a Code of Practice [PDF 251KB, 2 pages] on evidence-based commissioning. The Code will support commissioners and providers in conducting and using service evaluations to drive improved service delivery for socially excluded groups.
The SETF is working closely with HM Treasury, and across Government, to ensure that the next generation of Public Service Agreements addresses the unique needs of the most socially excluded. We are also specifically investigating how to support the most socially excluded adults, who risk falling between the gaps of current service provision. This proposal is being considered as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
A high quality evidence base is at the core of how we develop policy recommendations. We are presently conducting quantitative research on ‘social exclusion across the life course
’, experienced by people of all age groups: children, young people, those of working age and older people. This research aims to provide further insight into factors such as who is affected by social exclusion, how long these problems are faced, as well as key drivers. The research builds on an earlier research report commissioned by the Task Force, The Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Social Exclusion.
The Task Force contributed to the Green Paper on Children in Care [External PDF], published by the Government in October 2006, as well as the subsequent White Paper ‘Care Matters’ [External PDF], which was published in June 2007. The aim of this work is to narrow the gap between the outcomes of children in care and other children.
We commissioned further work on children in care through a joint report with the Department for Education and Skills on Implementing the social pedagogic approach for workforce training and education in England [PDF 530KB, 48 pages] which explores relationship building through learning and creative activities.
An Update to the Prime Minister was published in February, highlighting the progress made for the majority of groups in Britain and the key challenges on social exclusion.
Because we do not directly deliver services, all of our work requires collaboration with one or more departments. Below is a partial list of policy areas and projects we have had or continue to be involved with: