Church Action on Poverty is a UK-based national ecumenical Christian social justice charity, committed to tackling poverty in the United Kingdom. CAP works in partnership with churches and with people in poverty themselves to find solutions to poverty, locally, nationally and globally.
CAP was formed in 1982, has its main offices in Manchester and is charity number 1079986. The first Director of CAP was the MP John Battle, the second Director was current government minister Paul Goggins. The current Director is Niall Cooper.
CAP is responsible for running the annual Poverty Action Sunday (formerly Unemployment Sunday) which has now developed into Poverty and Homelessness Action Week. CAP began the Living Ghosts campaign highlighting the destitution of asylum seekers in the UK. It also contributes to the Debt on our Doorstep campaign against loan sharks and extortionate lending practices such as payday loans.
CAP has pioneered participatory budgeting, which has been taken up by the Labour government since 2007. It has also pioneered the first use of sustainable livelihoods analysis in the developed world in its Thrive project in Stockton-on-Tees in north east England. These two projects highlight CAP's role in bringing international development concepts to bear in finding solutions to socioeconomic problems in the UK.