Troubled families tsar Louise Casey has praised top-tier English councils for helping transform the lives of 14,000 chaotic households in the last 15 months.

The figure marks a seven-fold increase since January in the number of families supported by the £485m payment-by-results initiative - which is set to gain from a £1bn funding boost over the next full spending round.

Targeted and measurable support is offered across a number of life issues to help households blighted by entrenched inter-generational social problems that cost upwards of £75,000 annually.

Payments of up to £4,000 are released to local authorities which can prove they have helped the children of such households attend school regularly, found work for unemployed adults and cut anti-social behaviour across families.

Councils are already working with around 50,000 of the 80,000 families they have identified, up from 35,000 in March.

Head of the Troubled Families programme, Louise Casey said: ‘Councils deserve credit for taking up the challenge of the Troubled Families programme and achieving results so quickly.

‘By dealing with all the family members and all of their problems in a tough and intensive way we are finally getting to grips with problems which may have persisted for generations, giving hope to people who have often been failed in the past and relief for the communities that suffered the effects of their behaviour.’

Communities secretary, Eric Pickles, said ‘it is a huge achievement to have turned so many around in such a short space of time’.

‘And instead of several costly services working with the same family but failing to solve he underlying problem, this approach is both more effective for the family and cheaper too,’ Mr Pickles added.