For nearly two decades, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has shown that public policy has the power to release people from poverty rather than trap them in it. Our past successes tell us that the root causes of poverty can just as easily become pathways out of it when we get the answers right. But this only takes place when Westminster starts seeing people as potential to be released rather than problems to be solved.
This week we published our Annual Report for June 2021 to May 2022, covering 12 months of enormous change and uncertainty. We emerged from Covid lockdowns – periods in which the CSJ shone a light on the hidden damage of the pandemic – and were catapulted into an unprecedented cost of living crisis.
Looking forward, it is hard to predict what is going to happen next. But at a time when many say it simply isn’t possible to get things done in politics, we bucked the trend and proved them wrong. Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that the poorest are not overlooked in the maelstrom of political change.
In the period under review, we published 20 papers, crammed with nearly 200 solutions and recommendations. We are proud to respond to the call of those we serve, who are at the sharpest end of the cost of living crisis and are still being affected by the fallout from lockdown policy. We have gone harder than ever for our people and improved upon our already award-winning impact. Two in five (43%) of our recommendations were adopted by Government, up from one in three (33%) last year. This in turn leveraged some £6 billion in government investment targeted at those who need it most.
We are particularly grateful to our Alliance of over 500 frontline charities, funders and staff for their work and support in achieving the above. And to the many government and opposition members, policymakers, advisors and civil servants for their support in championing social justice at the heart of British politics.
Last year we took a major step forward, establishing the CSJ Foundation to champion grassroots charities working in some of our most challenged communities, spotlight the lessons of the back streets into the corridors of power, and support philanthropy in often unseen but high impact local work. It has seen incredible impact in its first year and we now have dedicated offices in London, the East Midlands, North West and North East giving us unique insight into the real-life challenges of poverty and the solutions to address them: 15 of our papers this year came directly from insights collected by our regional offices.
Our mandate has never been stronger, as those most struggling in this country face even tougher times ahead. We will not stop fighting for those who need us most, driving social justice to the heart of politics with work focused on addressing the cost of living crisis, a new state of the nation report, and continued work in our five key areas to address the root causes of poverty. We hope you enjoy the successes in this report, and we look forward to working with you over the next year to do even more.
