CSJ launches new policy groups

Iain Duncan Smith launched a new raft of policy groups yesterday, building on the foundations of BreakdownBritain and BreakthroughBritain:

• Martin Howe QC will lead a group looking into Courts and Sentencing - how to restore faith in the sentencing process and strengthen the link in criminals' minds between crime and punishment.
• The Prison Reform group, headed up by Jonathan Aitken (pictured with CSJ Director Philippa Stroud), will be looking particularly at over-crowding and tackling recidivism rates through more effective rehabilitation.
• Crime affects the poor the most, the Policing group will look at how Police Officers can do their job more effectively.
• Vice-Chairman of Voluntary Youth Services Simon Antrobus will look at Youth & Gang Crime - how to get young kids off the conveyor belt to it, and how to help those already in the criminal justice system.
• Dr Stephen Brien will chair the Economic Dependency group looking at how the benefits system can do more to incentives working, without penalising those who genuinely can't.
• Housing will also be covered, Kate Davies and her team will look into the problems such as social housing reinforcing dependency, and over one million houses being unfit for human habitation.
• The Asylum group chaired by Julian Prior will, making the distinction with economic migrants, will assess the current situation in which a majority of asylum seekers can't work, claim benefits or even volunteer.
• Looked-after children, i.e. children in state care, have amazingly dismal prospects in life - Ryan Robson will chair a group assessing how the system can be improved, and how sending children to care can be avoided.
• Dr Samantha Callan will chair the Family Law Commission reviewing recent developments in family law and the Early Years Commission examining effective ways of intervening

The launch was in the Salmon Youth Centre in Bethnal Green and was attended by many people from small charities in London. As usual for a CSJ event, rather than hearing from politicians we heard from people on the ground, including a moving poem recital by a young girl about a young black lad who was shot in his bed recently.

There was a lot of talk, rightfully, about young people needing love, role models, stability etc, sitting alongside talk of the more distinctly conservative approaches of empowering society rather than the state, helping people to help themselves, and supporting risk-takers.

Deputy Editor

Comments

[Tony Makara]

The new policy groups show the energy and desire to tackle core problems in Britian today, and stand in stark contrast to the condescending attitude of the Labour government who believe they can legislate such problems out of existence.

Very good to see that housing will be covered and I hope the policy group on housing will look at ways in which we can help counter homelessness, which of course has risen sharply under the Labour government.

[David Belchamber]

Excellent point about housing, Tony. Homelessness in a country of our economic standing is a social disgrace and I hope that IDS will be trying to harness charities and churches to band together, with tory government financial aid, to reduce this problem to almost zero.

[Comstock]

I do wish IDS would consider defecting to Labour. Here we have a geniuine attempt to be 'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime', and hopefully some good stuff on housing and vunerable children in care. The more I see of this man the more I like him. This is an odd thing to say but in some ways he is to the left of some in New Labour.

Apart from his support for Iraq, he has to be my favourite of the last 6 Tory leaders. Of course it's easy to look at these things in opposition, quite another to fight for them in government, but I wish he would consider it.

[Tony Makara]

David Belchamber, yes, it is something that shames our country. Its heartbreaking to see that young people in their teens are living on the streets away from their families. How can this happen? Why has our society broken down to the point where our children are living in the gutter. This whole question goes beyond housing and reflects the social decay in our society. People are alienated from mainstream society and the great tragedy is that we have a government that literally doesn't care. The Labour government only seem to be interested in the winners in our society, the losers are forgotten and written off as being of no value. Those people on the streets are real people, not statistics, they do matter and we do care. Let's work to bring them back into the fold, back into our society, where they belong.

[James Maskell]

About time someone on the centre right looked seriously at the issue of looked after children. The statistics speak for themselves. Perhaps Michael Gove can talk about it sometime since its part of his portfolio...

[George Hinton]

The Prison Reform group, headed up by Jonathan Aitken (pictured with CSJ Director Philippa Stroud), will be looking particularly at over-crowding and tackling recidivism rates through more effective rehabilitation.

Rehab? make prison sentences a nightmare for the recidivists, hard labour and harsh standards.
Prison should not be a soft option. If you offend against the mores of society you cannot be allowed to demand those same mores being applied to you in prison.
I am tired of the siren voices demanding that crims be given a soft time in jug. I want retribution, revenge, not a five star Hilton Hotel lifestyle.