TACKLING a problem at its root more often than not is cheaper and more effective than once the issue has taken set.

This is illustrated in the figures for how much addressing troubled city families has hurt the taxpayer.

Turning these troubled families into thriving ones has left a bill of £61m.

And while we have the third-best performing unit in the country, it still has only turned around just over half of the families identified. Of course, work must be done to get parents back into work, and children back into school.

No one can dispute the hard work being done by social services during times of cuts and increased pressures.

But it would be better to focus on early intervention, spotting the warning signs and taking action as soon as possible. That way many of those families that descend into troubled territories can be rescued before the problems become deep-rooted.

Sadly the Government offers £4,000 to the local authority for each family turned around - a financial carrot at the wrong end of the stick. A question mark has to be raised anyway about labelling these families.

It is unlikely to inspire them to elevate themselves and instead is a millstone round their necks, it opens the doors to bullying of children from these families, which is likely to encourage them to stay away from education.