Family champion Emma Harrison quits role

Ms Harrison was appointed by David Cameron in December 2010 to help lead the Government’s work with troubled families.

However, her company A4e - a key provider contracted by the Government to help unemployed people find jobs through the Work Programme – has become embroiled in fraud allegations and is being investigated by the police.

The chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Margaret Hodge, has called for all contracts with A4e to be suspended while the investigation continues.

Ms Harrison was personally appointed by the Prime Minister to help get up to 120,000 families back into work.

In a statement Ms Harrison said, ‘I have asked to step aside from my voluntary role as family champion as I do not want the current environment to distract from the very important work with troubled families.

‘I remain passionate about helping troubled families and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute in an area where I have been active for many years.’

Ms Harrison’s role as ‘family champion’ also involved leading a pilot scheme in up to ten areas of the country to help up to 500 families in England with adults who had never had a job, and who had multiple problems.

Last summer, in the wake of the riots, Mr Cameron said that the plans were being held up by bureaucracy and that he would put ‘rocket boosters’ under the programme to help turn around the lives of the 120,000 most troubled families.

Subsequently Mr Cameron appointed Louise Casey, a former adviser to Tony Blair, to head up the Troubled Families Unit.