THE Globe last week reported the 'triumph' claimed by Eric Pickles for the Troubled Families Projects.

Yes, 105,000 families have been "worked with", but this is not evidence of success.

As the Globe pointed out, the claims have not been audited by the Office for National Statistics for the good reason that the ONS would refuse to endorse them, as has happened before.

I have on several occasions taken such claims apart with the numbers.

This time I will simply report the words of Louise Casey, Eric Pickles Troubled Families Tsar, speaking to the REFORM organisation on June 12, 2014, on the 14 years of Family Intervention and Troubled Family Projects.

"As hard as it is to accept, the truth is that despite all our best efforts, over many years – and I include myself in that – we just haven't got it right.

"We haven't succeeded in getting these families to change ... we just haven't."

The reason for the failure is simple. Most of the troubled families are not "criminal" but are mentally and physically ill or disabled, poor and socially inadequate. Bullying and "getting tough" will never cure these problems.

Remember your tax money is being wasted on this voodoo social engineering.

Professor D P Gregg (retired), Spital.