By Oenone Scott

Earlier this week, Philippa Stroud delivered a key note speech to technology policy experts and business leaders at a 'Financial Inclusion Summit’ held at Bloomberg’s Central London HQ.

The Summit, sponsored by Concentric and Bloomberg looked at a range of financial issues facing low income families.

Baroness Stroud warned of the dangers faced by the “bottom 20%”, a group unable to access cheap credit or build up savings leaving them “vulnerable to income shocks and at the mercy of pay-day loans and other high-interest lenders”.

Philippa outlined three measures to promote better financial inclusion: a “back banking system” within Universal Credit to create low-interest loans within the welfare system; the use of digital technologies to tackle financial exclusion and the introduction of a financial education programme within Universal Support to avoid problem debt.

Philippa called on the financial services sector to enable these ideas to become a reality and do more to improve access to financial products for those on the lowest incomes. 

By Frank Young

The House of Lords debated the Government's Life Chances Agenda on Wednesday ahead of next week's Queen's Speech which is expected to contain a series announcements around improving life chances.  

During the debate, CSJ Director Baroness Stroud welcomed the Government moving towards an approach which "recognises the drivers of poverty". 

Commenting on the anticipated Life Chances Strategy PhiIippa encouraged Ministers to "match the scale of the challenge we are facing with bold solutions".

Introduce new metrics to measure Life Chances:

Philippa called on the Government to adopt new metrics to target the Life Chances strategy.

Speaking on the floor of the House she encouraged the Government to focus on “the metrics to measure the effectiveness of the Government’s all-out assault on poverty” and said "the strategy will be strong if it matches the scale of the challenge we are facing, with the boldness of the solutions and appropriate accountability to drive this life changing agenda forward."

Developing a Universal Support policy:

The Government has a number of programmes which could be aligned as part of a Life Chances Strategy: Universal Credit, Universal Support , the Work Programme, the Troubled Families Programme and the Pupil Premium.

At present each of these programmes follows slightly different criteria. Now is the time to align these programmes towards the same life chances measures.

Philippa Stroud said:"the launch of a Life Chances Strategy provides the Government with an opportunity to assess existing programmes and refocus them against life chance measures. This rationalisation of Government programmes so that they all work to the same ‘life chance’ criteria within a new Universal Support package should be the first social reform contained within the Life Chances Strategy."

By Daniel Bell

CSJ Director Baroness Stroud has highlighted concerns over the medicalisation of childhood during a panel event hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Prescribed Drug Dependence this week. 

A chronic lack of alternative talking therapies leaves doctors with little choice but to treat mental health disorder amongst children and adolescents with medication. 

Philippa Stroud asked the audience of policy makers and health professionals to consider the impact of "social factors" such as the internet, sexting, cyber bullying and family fragility, in fuelling an alarming rise in childhood mental health problems, describing this as the "silent scream of the next generation". 

With General Practitioners under increasing pressure, consultations lasting little more than ten minutes and a rise in children presenting with mental health concerns it is little wonder prescription drugs become a quick-fix solution. 

GPs can only do so much. Only a step change in the social pressures faced by young people will avoid today's adolescents becoming stuck on a treadmill of prescription drugs in adulthood.