This was a big week for the social justice agenda as the Chancellor delivered his Autumn Statement.

The CSJ published an ‘Open Letter’ to the Chancellor asking him to ‘think again’ on changes to tax credits and encouraged the Chancellor to make “a historic welfare announcement”. The letter outlined a series of CSJ policies which would if implemented, deliver the Prime Minister’s “all-out assault on poverty”.                         

Baroness Stroud appeared on Radio 4’s flagship Today programme and 5Live Breakfast before the statement to encourage the Chancellor to protect “work incentives” contained within the Tax Credit system.  Following the Chancellor’s announcement that he was abandoning his plans for changes to the tax credit system, she responded on behalf of the CSJ with an appearance on BBC Newsnight and a letter in The Times welcoming the announcement. The CSJ will continue to make the case for the protection of work incentives within the welfare system, as part of a commitment to making work pay for those on low income and is delighted that the Chancellor listened to these arguments on Wednesday.

Earlier in the week Baroness Stroud was a panel member at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation event: Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion, the definitive picture of poverty in the UK (picture above, courtesy of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation).

• Link to CSJ Press Release on Autumn Statement
• Link to the CSJ 'Open Letter' to the Chancellor
• Link to Letter in The Times
• Link to Baroness Stroud on the Today Programme

CAPX: CAMERON MUST DRIVE SOCIAL REFORM, TO SHOW TORIES ARE ABOUT MORE THAN CUTS

By Baroness Stroud

Is it possible to cut public spending and reduce poverty at the same time? Instinctively, most people would answer no. Poverty is about money so if the Government cuts spending, especially on welfare, poverty must increase. In the current climate, with the Chancellor struggling to balance the nation’s books by engaging in yet another bout of Whitehall austerity, we should expect poverty to increase.

As someone who has spent the last five years working for Iain Duncan Smith in the Department of Work and Pensions, I can well understand the thought linkage between hardship and spending levels. For decades, the Left has dominated the poverty debate, making an apparent orthodoxy of its position that all that matters is the largesse of the State and that compassion is measured only in terms of more money. Yet, such thinking is wrong – and wrong on two counts.

click here for full article

CSJ BLOG: SPORT FOR GOOD

By Lucy Kinder

Sport received a boost in this week’s Spending Review with the Chancellor pledging an extra £2.6m between now and 2020 for Sport England, which invests taxpayer and lottery funding into grassroots sports. The move comes as the Government prepares to publish its first sports strategy in 13 years just before Christmas.

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CSJ BLOG: SMALL CHARITIES DO ‘THE HEAVY LIFTING’ IN POVERTY FIGHT

By Dolly Theis

This week the CSJ celebrated its 11th annual CSJ Awards, where we showcase the work of small, poverty fighting charities in front of a 500-strong audience including senior politicians, major philanthropists, corporate organisations, journalists and celebrities. In a week in which Westminster has been fixated on the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, this was an opportunity to celebrate those organisations that rely largely on community support rather than government funding.

click here for full article

For details of all the award winners the following article published on the Huffington Post website provides an overview of the night (click here)

CSJ BLOG: OUR BEST SCHOOLS CAN BE IN OUR POOREST AREAS [article published before Autumn Statement]

By Alex Burghart

If the rumours are true, then the Government is about to address one of the great injustices in our education system. If you are currently a pupil in an English school, the amount of money spent on your education can vary wildly depending on the local authority in which you happen to find yourself living.

click here for full article

Link to 'Closing the Divide'

Alice Dawnay, Founding Director, Switchback with Muhammad who works in the Switchback café.

The level of educational failure in our prisons is famously shocking – about half of all prisoners are functionally illiterate, half have no qualifications at all. Lacking basic skills and with an experience of crime, it is easy to see why we still have recidivism rates of around 45%.

click here for full article

Two of the CSJ’s current research projects include papers on the Criminal Justice system and poor quality housing. The Criminal Justice report, due to be published in 2016, will have a particular focus on prison reform. Our Housing research will tackle the issue of poor quality housing and investigate issues surrounding it. The report will be out before Christmas.

The CSJ is unique amongst think tanks in having an alliance of over 350 grassroots charities and small voluntary organisations that are tackling social issues in the most disadvantaged parts of Britain.

This week we would like to commend the fantastic work of The Clink, who received our Award of Recognition at our CSJ Awards ceremony on Tuesday 24th November. The clink has worked with over 500 prisoners, reducing reoffending by training ex-offenders in the catering and restaurant business, helping them to gain qualifications and find employment upon release.

The Clink has restaurants in Brixton, Cardiff, High Down and Styal which you can book to go to online at: www.theclinkcharity.org