Social exclusion is a priority for the Government. The Social Exclusion Task Force is leading the way through a PSA on socially excluded adults and by developing new approaches to tackling disadvantage.
These approaches include the Family Nurse Partnerships, launched in April 2007, which have helped over 1,000 young women under the age of 20, and the £6 million Adults Facing Chronic Exclusion Programme, designed to test new approaches to tackling chronic social exclusion among the most marginalised people in society—including young women at risk of exclusion and associated problems such as abuse, crime and addiction.
The Government are committed to ensuring that all young people are on the path to success—cross-cutting work which is driven primarily through PSA 14. Co-ordinated support for all young people, including women, covers initiatives such as targeted youth support, the commitment to reduce the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET), the recently announced £13 million Intensive Intervention Projects, £140 million investment in targeted parenting programmes, and the expansion of whole family support initiatives such as Family Intervention Projects though a commitment to put one in every local authority by 2011. At the same time as strengthening our efforts to help young girls have the best start in life, the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy aims to ensure that young parents receive the support they need to make successful futures for themselves and their children.
This work is supported by a range of other cross-government initiatives such as positive activities and the £190 million investment in improving youth facilities, and Government strategies on Youth Alcohol, Youth Crime, Youth Volunteering and Drugs.