ADDITIONAL funding is being made available for a council programme which provides support to families in County Durham.

Durham County Council runs the County Durham Stronger Families programme, through which it provides support with any problems or difficulties families may be having.

The council’s Cabinet will next week be told how the programme is ranked 37th nationally out of 141 in terms of the number of families it has helped. As a result of its success, it is now one of only 14 nationwide to be given additional money from government of almost £700,000 over two years – taking its total funding for the period up to 2020 to more than £3m.

Stronger Families began its second phase in 2014 as one of 50 ‘early starter’ programmes across the country, with the aim of helping 4,360 families by 2020.

As of the end of March, the programme had successfully helped 1,529 families, with 749 of these through the actions of its One Point Service, 396 its Youth Offending Service and 208 its Families First team.

Cabinet will hear how these figures saw the council improve on its previous position of 45th in terms of numbers of families helped nationally.

The council is one of 14 to have been given Earned Autonomy status which will see it receive its government funding for the entirety of the period up to 2020, up front. This follows changes to how councils can receive their Troubled Families Grants from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with authorities only able to receive them on a results based basis.