When David Cameron became British Prime Minister back in 2010, he spoke of a broken society,

and he was determined to fix it.

People in troubled families aren't worthless, nor are they programmed to fail.

I will not allow them to be written off.

So let us get out there, help them turn their lives around and heal the scars of a broken society.

The government created what it called a Troubled Families Program, targeting money, a lot of money at Britain's most... troubled families

at Britain's most challenged families,

helping them so it hoped to become functional members of society.

Good intentions no doubt, but did it work?

No, not according to the recent independent evaluations which have been blunt.

The policy, they say, has achieved next to nothing. The government disputes that, of course, but

the numbers don't look good. Policy failure isn't unusual. Governments everywhere, even trying to do the right thing, frequently get it wrong.

Money is wasted, opportunities lost. Why?

I'm Michael Blasland, and this is the inquiry.

Part 1, the Charge Sheet

Sheat.

I've been banging on this issue for 25 years. Paul Light, Professor of Public Service at New York University,

long-time critic of government failure,

is our first expert, and wears the scars of battle.

I worked on Capitol Hill.

I've participated in drafting legislation that became law that I think contained the seeds of failure.

So I mean I've been around.

...