Putting People, Place and Purpose at the heart of politics

Public distrust of politicians – and the political system as a whole – is at an all-time low. Increasing numbers of people feel powerless and disengaged from politics.

There is a desperate need for politicians of all political colours to win back trust. And in particular, it is the next generation of voters – our children and young people – who need to have confidence that politicians, and politics, can work for them.

Despite it being dubbed the ‘Brexit’ election, domestic policies are becoming an increasingly important part of this election campaign. Voters care about crime, education and jobs – and they care about the health and opportunities of our young people.

The three ‘Ps’

Catch22 works across all these areas and we have the frontline experience to know what works and what doesn’t. At the heart of our approach is the belief that everyone can thrive if they have good people around them, a decent place to live and a purpose in life.

These three ‘Ps’ provide a solid platform for joined up policy making.

In our manifesto published ahead of the election, we set out a series of policies that we want to see all parties adopt and which are grounded in the reality of day to day work across our frontline services.

Protecting children in care

Latest figures show that the number of children being taken into care is at a 10-year high, with over 75,000 looked-after children in England. Too many children are being placed in inappropriate care settings, largely due to the growing demand and the relative lack of preventative services.

We want to see every children’s care home (whether regulated or unregulated) registered on a central database which is readily available to Local Authorities.  We’re also calling for the appropriate regulation of all ‘homes’ for under 18 year olds – as currently there is no way of a local authority knowing the quality of the provision when they place a child. And we are pushing for greater investment in ‘edge of care’ and preventatives services for vulnerable families – using proven models that reduce the number of children needing to be re-referred to social services and put on child protection plans.

Opening up opportunities for work

Youth unemployment currently stands at around 12 per cent  - and certain groups of young people, such as those with a disability, care leavers or those from minority ethnic groups, face particular challenges in securing jobs. That is why we want to see incentives for employers who take on staff from underserved groups, in the vein of the £1,000 bursary currently given to employers and training providers who employ care leavers.

Another area of focus is apprenticeships. We are concerned by figures that show an increase in the number of starts on higher level apprenticeships, with fewer young people and new starters benefitting from apprenticeship places. We are therefore calling for apprenticeship levy payers to dedicate at least half of their levy expenditure to under-30s. We also want to see unspent apprenticeship levy invested in services to support young people in finding employment - and we are calling for an increase in the apprenticeships minimum wage to match the living wage.

Alternative education

Alternative provision schools are vital for young people struggling in mainstream education – and can help them progress and succeed in sustained education, training or employment. These schools must be supported to deliver education of the highest standards, but we want to see OFSTED inspections focus on wider factors (such as emotional wellbeing and development) rather than solely emphasising academic attainment.

Active citizens

The National Citizen Service (NCS) has seen over 500,000 16 and 17 year olds from all walks of life gain valuable skills. There have been some concerns within the youth sector about the impact of NCS and whether money spent on it could be better used elsewhere. But the amount of money raised by participants for local causes as part of the Social Action aspect of NCS is huge. The opportunities it presents young people from all walks of life in terms of skills and employability should be quantified – and all this information made public.  We also believe all school children should be made aware of the National Citizen Service through school engagement programmes.

Whoever is in Government come December 13th, it makes both moral and economic sense to adopt policies that help build resilience in people and allow them to contribute positively to society. We are ready to support all those in parliament to make that a reality.

You can read our Catch22’s full manifesto here

Chris Wright is chief executive of social business Catch22