Tackle £100bn poverty bill to fund tax cuts, says leading think-tank

Tackling poverty should be a top priority for the new Prime Minister, a new nationally representative survey for the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has found – as the top think-tank releases its manifesto setting out how to tackle social breakdown to fund tax cuts, ahead of the next government taking office.
 
Conducted by Opinium, with 2,000 adults, the poll found that three in four (73 per cent) of the public agree that ‘the next Prime Minister should announce a new plan to reduce poverty as a priority’.
 
With Britain’s social problems such as family breakdown, criminal reoffending and educational under-attainment estimated to cost the nation almost £100bn each year alone, the CSJ also asked for the public’s perspective on these matters.
 
By two to one the public agreed that the next Prime Minister ‘should announce a new plan to reduce family breakdown and build stronger families’, according to the poll, whilst over half support tax reforms to give further support to married couples with children. Notably 74 per cent think reducing rates of family breakdown, such as divorce and separation, would help to tackle Britain’s long-term problems.
 
In their new manifesto, Repairing our Society, the CSJ sets out a suite of policies to address these social challenges – whilst recognising the huge gains that could be achieved for the public finances, which could ultimately fund tax cuts, if serious progress could be made.
 
Top recommendations include:

• Creating a new Cabinet level position with responsibility for family policy
• Boosting the Marriage Allowance to allow couples to share 100 per cent of their personal tax allowance
• The Government funding 100 per cent of childcare costs for three and four year olds on Universal Credit, while introducing a voucher system for other families
• Rolling out body scanners and wastewater testing in all prisons to crack down on drug addiction in prisons – a leading factor behind reoffending
• Extending the school day to offer children five hours of extra-curricular activity a week
• Offering an effective £442 tax cut for workers on Universal Credit by restoring Work Allowances to 2016 levels

In 2022 Office for National Statistics data showed that rates of marriage had fallen to their lowest level since records began – despite overwhelming evidence that stable, two-parent families provide the best start in life for children, and 49 per cent of lone parent families being in relative income poverty according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
 
As collated by the CSJ, the cost of family breakdown has been estimated by the Relationships Foundation at £51 billion. Reoffending costs £18 billion, debt problems cost £8 billion, and the cost to society of low numeracy alone has been estimated at £20 billion per year.
 
The report argues:
 
“The next Prime Minister faces an unenviable in-tray of urgent domestic challenges. Yet the pandemic and ongoing cost of living crisis have also exposed – and exacerbated – foundational weaknesses in our society. Many who were just about managing are no longer coping. The next Prime Minister must take equally seriously and address with equal energy the long-term repair work our country so urgently needs.
 
“Crucially, while tax cuts have emerged as a focal point of the ongoing leadership contest, it would be a profound mistake for our future leaders to look at the social breakdown in our nation and view this as a second order priority. Indeed, reducing the overall level of demand on the state depends on it.
 
“If we want to reduce the scale and the need for public spending, we need a society made up of strong families and thriving communities. We need safer streets, more resilient finances, and to provide the very best start for children.”
 
Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the CSJ, said: “Tax cuts have dominated the debate for who should be the next Prime Minister. And yet the discussion has so far failed to take seriously the urgent need to repair the social damage our nation has experienced over the last two years.
 
“Gripping these big issues with determination – whether that’s families breaking apart, lockdown’s devastating blow to education, or the crime plaguing our streets – is what will ultimately generate the fiscal headroom needed to cut taxes and build a stronger society for everyone.
 
“And with three in four of the public agreeing that the next Prime Minister needs to immediately set out their plan to tackle poverty, contenders should adopt the ambitious but credible plan set out in this manifesto to release our nation’s immense potential in the years ahead.”