Facebook icon Twitter icon Forward icon

Child poverty: We must confront the root causes

We need radical change in our approach to fighting child poverty, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has said.

The CSJ has been at the heart of a crucial debate this week on child poverty, arguing for political action to tackle its root causes.

In an interview with Jeremy Paxman on BBC’s Newsnight, Christian Guy, the CSJ’s Managing Director, said “work is the surest route out of poverty”.  Watch here

The CSJ, responding to a report by Save the Children that said 3.5million children in the UK live in deprivation, told The Telegraph that one of the first things the Government must do is change the arbitrary definition of poverty. Speaking on the Boulton & Co show live on Sky News, Christian added that we need to look at the root causes of poverty, such as: family breakdown, addiction, poor educational attainment, debt and worklessness.

We were also interviewed on BBC Breakfast, BBC News 24, Channel 5, LBC’s Nick Ferrari Show, we wrote an article for the Spectator’s Coffee House blog and a CSJ statement was published on Politics Home.

CSJ welcomes work experience initiative

A new scheme that promises to provide thousands of young unemployed people in London with work experience could be an important step in addressing welfare dependency, the Centre for Social Justice has said.

Christian Guy told BBC London’s Vanessa Feltz show the new pilot, which will see 18 to 24-year-olds who have been unemployed for at least six months given placements with charities and social enterprises, is a positive step.

He said: “If implemented well, this programme will see participants work with charities and social enterprises – not only will this give the young people an excellent chance to build skills, develop a CV and gain experience, they will also make a difference in society and boost the beleaguered voluntary sector.”

Drugs in prison must be targeted

The Centre for Social Justice has welcomed the appointment of Chris Grayling as new Justice Secretary and urged him to make tackling drugs in prison a priority.

Christian Guy told The Telegraph he hopes Mr Grayling “will continue the Government’s drive to cut reoffending and slow the revolving door culture that has blighted this country’s criminal justice system for years”.

Calling for Grayling to “ramp up efforts to tackle drugs in prison”, the CSJ said: “The only way to reduce crime is to hit its root causes, and a sustained focus on eliminating drugs from prisons would be a positive and effective move.”