The CSJ launched its pre-election manifesto in March detailing seven key goals for an incoming Government.
The manifesto, Transforming Lives to Strengthen Britain, calls for an incoming Government to adopt a number of key poverty fighting recommendations on each core aspect of CSJ policy in the areas of family, education, work, debt, addiction, charities and the criminal justice system.
It praises important social justice reforms that have been implemented during this Parliament, such as the Social Justice Cabinet Committee. However the manifesto also asserts that there is still much more work for an incoming Government to do.
Recommendations include abolishing youth unemployment with a ‘youth offer’ for school leavers, establishing a new child poverty measure to tackle the root causes of poverty, replacing Sure Start with ‘family hubs’ to prevent spiralling rates of family breakdown and aiming to have a state funded boarding school place for every disadvantaged child who would benefit.
The CSJ has also called for a treatment tax of a penny on a unit of alcohol to pay for hundreds of new residential rehabilitation centres. The charge would raise a billion pounds over the next five years and create more than 200 new rehab centres.
The manifesto recommends introducing welfare cards for the most chaotic addicts with families who refuse to engage in treatment. This would ensure a portion of benefits are only available to spend on basic essentials.
Many CSJ proposals have already been adopted by the three main parties as part of the 2015 General Election campaign.
To chart the progress an Election Watch page has been created to outline the CSJ's influence.