COUNCIL boss Kate Hollern said a new approach to ‘joining up’ services will improve the lives of vulnerable people.

As reported last week, an ambitious programme of joint work between councils, the NHS and police in Pennine Lancashire has received a £750,000 cash injection from the government.

Teams made up of staff from different organisations will be based together, and will be able to share information, to enable them to work more effectively to support individuals, and families, who have been identified by services as being vulnerable, or at risk, because of factors like alcohol or drug misuse, criminal activity, or adverse experiences growing up.

The Pennine Lancashire bid, called Transforming Lives, Strengthening Communities, brought together Blackburn with Darwen Council, Lancashire County Council, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups, and Lancashire Police, along with a range of other public and voluntary sector partners.

Coun Hollern, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, which led the bid, said: “Our new approach will address the root causes of behaviour, rather than just responding to the behaviour itself.

“This means working together to identify where problems start, and intervening at the earliest opportunity.”