Den kostsamma underklassen

Sunday Times har idag en intressant artikel om den stora – och för skattebetalarna kostsamma – brittiska underklassen:

The true scale of Britain’s “underclass” has been revealed by a government  initiative that has uncovered 500,000 problem families, estimated to be  costing the taxpayer more than £30bn a year.

The staggering number of seriously troubled families, four times the previous  estimate, has emerged in a three-year operation to confront those who are  blighting neighbourhoods with their dysfunctional behaviour.

The depth of the malaise has been uncovered by Louise Casey, the  troubleshooter entrusted by David Cameron with turning round 120,000 problem  families after the urban riots of the summer of 2011. An additional 400,000  families are now to be targeted.

Tidningen fortsätter:

Earlier this year a parliamentary watchdog warned that the troubled families  programme was likely to miss its targets, but Casey insists it is now on  track and will prove its worth. She said: “This is a programme of the head —  these families are costing us money — and a programme of the heart — because  I don’t want these children growing up to repeat the same patterns of  behaviour of their parents.” 

She added: “We are beginning to achieve a revolution in how you deal with the  worst families in Britain. 

“Worst in that they have got the worst problems, frankly they cause the most  problems and frankly you wouldn’t want to live with them. 

“It’s a cultural revolution in the way that we see these families. There is an  acceptance that the poor will always be with us. I spend my entire life  saying that’s not how it has to be.” 

The Sunday Times first highlighted the plight of the underclass in 1989.