A United Nation

“A United Nation” addresses the five priority areas identified in the CSJ Social Justice Commission’s recent “Two Nations” report which laid out an unflinching review into the state of poverty in the UK. A United Nation sets out a suite of recommendations to make work pay, create safe streets, build stable communities, support fragile families, and champion the lost generation.

The report’s recommendations include addressing the UK’s economic inactivity crisis by devolving responsibility for employment support and adult education from Whitehall to the regions. The CSJ’s ‘Going Dutch’ report details this policy drawing on the experience of the Netherlands which has successfully reduced economic inactivity three times more than in the UK.

Other recommendations include:

• Increase the number of officers in Neighbourhood Policing back to 2017 levels, adding approximately 5,260 more officers across the country.
• Boost the supply of all types of homes and provide secure, appropriate, high-quality rented accommodation including in social homes that allows tenants to put down roots in the community.
• Introduce Family Credit, giving households more choice and flexibility when it comes to childcare options.
• Give every state-educated secondary school a Right to Sport of 2 hours of sport per week as part of an extended school day of up to five hours extra each week for enrichment activities provided by community groups.

We know that it is almost impossible to transform the lives of the most disadvantaged without first having deep trusted relationships. A clear theme through all of the findings of Two Nations was this: systems don’t change people … people change people. This means as well as changing what support is provided, we also need to change how the support reaches those who need it most.

This has major implications for government. Simply imposing more centralised programmes from national organisations and distant offices and officers of the state will never solve the problems of our poorest citizens. Any solution must start with deep, trusted, community-based relationships, with local people, charities, businesses and agencies, working with people they know.

That means empowering local authorities as well as the third sector to deliver services that have traditionally sat with Whitehall. There is no reason public money cannot fund Family Hubs set-up by charities. There is no reason why Local Authorities should not have complete control over employment support services budget. There is no reason why public money cannot partner with private philanthropy to support youth infrastructure.

No-one comes away from the public sphere thinking we need to further centralise power. There is huge support for this radical humanisation and delegation of public service delivery away from the distant corridors of Whitehall.

With this in mind, A United Nation sets out how the Government can meet these five national challenges by putting this decentralised relationships-based approach at the heart of the policy response.