Shropshire Council

Strengthening Families

'Strengthening Families' is the name given to the Shropshire interpretation of the national Supporting Families programme.

It aims to support families who might need extra help to be happy, healthy and safe.  This means services working together to provide families with the right support at the right time. 

What your information is used for

Finding out which families most need support

We want to make sure that the families who might need extra help are offered support. To find out which families most need this support we share some personal information between council departments and with other organisations such as housing organisations, police and the Youth Offending Service. All sharing of information is done with care and in accordance with the law.

Offering families support

The families who most need support will be offered it by a worker they know, for example a health visitor or children’s centre worker. Families can also request support. The worker will gain your consent to share information with other agencies that may be involved with your family, or need to be involved with your family. The worker will also gain consent for evaluation (checking whether the support is helping). 

Each family supported as part of Strengthening Families will have a 'family outcomes plan', which will help them work towards achieving the things they would like to change.   

The National Impact Study 

This study will measure whether Strengthening Families is helping to support families to change things for the better.

If a family is assessed as eligible to receive support, we may share some limited personal information (including names and dates of birth) with the Office for National Statistics (working on behalf of the DCLG). This is in line with section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 and section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972.

This information is then matched with information from national data sets, including those held by:

  • Police
  • Department for Education
  • Department for Work and Pensions
  • Health and social care
  • Public health
  • National Crime Agency

Once the information has been matched, all personal information is removed.    

Research on this anonymised data will then be carried out by the Department for Communities and Local Government to show whether the support is helping families. The progress of families receiving support will be compared with families not receiving support (but have been assessed as eligible). This information will help make support better for families in the future.   

Please note that it will be impossible for anyone to be identified in the research, as all information will be anonymised. The information won't be used to make decisions about the treatment a person currently receives. It will in no way affect any benefits, services or treatment a person may be entitled to. The information can only be used for research with the aim of improving services. All personal data will be destroyed at the end of the research.

Where is the information held by us stored?

All information is collated and stored on a secure network.

Access to information

Only people with good reason will be able to view the information. All access will be in line with the Data Protection Act 1998. Families can request to see the information we hold about them by submitting an 'access to personal information request'.

Your rights 

Information is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. This means it will only be used for the reasons we've stated. It will be kept safe and secure. Families have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner if it was felt that there was a problem.

Further information and contacts

For further information about Shropshire Strengthening Families, contact Kay Smallbone:

  • Email: kay.smallbone@shropshire.gov.uk
  • Phone: 01743 253921