Key Takeaways:
- The Social Mobility Commission (SMC) has criticized the government for lacking a coherent strategy to tackle entrenched inequalities and improve social mobility.
- The SMC’s chair, Alun Francis, has urged Labour leader Keir Starmer to outline a bold vision to address the "defining social mobility challenge of our generation".
- The commission’s report highlights the disparities in opportunities between big cities and former industrial heartlands, with young adults in these areas being left behind.
- The government has been accused of focusing on "quick fixes" and lacking a long-term approach to social mobility, with successive governments abandoning or failing to deliver on promises.
- The number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET) has risen to almost 1 million, with disadvantaged backgrounds and low qualifications increasing the risk of being NEET.
Introduction to Social Mobility
The Social Mobility Commission (SMC) has warned that the government lacks a coherent strategy to tackle entrenched inequalities and improve social mobility, leaving millions of people behind. The commission’s chair, Alun Francis, has urged Labour leader Keir Starmer to outline a bold vision to address the "defining social mobility challenge of our generation". This comes as a major official report highlighted the disparities in opportunities between big cities and former industrial heartlands, with young adults in these areas being left behind. The report found that while big cities such as Manchester, Edinburgh, and Bristol are thriving, opportunities are "over-concentrated" in these areas, leaving other parts of the country behind.
The Government’s Approach to Social Mobility
The SMC’s warning comes at a moment of mounting pressure on the government over its approach to social mobility. The commission’s report described poorer childhood conditions, fewer job opportunities, and a lack of growth in former industrial communities. New figures also showed the sharpest rise in youth unemployment for three years, with almost 1 million young people now outside education, work, or training. Critics say the government has failed to articulate a plan to brighten their prospects before the next election. Francis praised government policies on devolution and housing but said welfare reform and other proposals had been "stop-start". He also stated that policies on growth and educational improvement were unclear, making it difficult to develop a coherent strategy.
The Need for a Coherent Strategy
Francis emphasized the need for a coherent approach to social mobility, rather than a collection of disconnected policies. He said that without an overall strategy, the government would "struggle to address some of those issues and have a clear-headed view about what we might do to improve things". He also warned that without a "universal view" of what social mobility means, it risked being subsumed by diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Francis argued that social mobility is not just a DEI policy, but an economic and social policy that aims to bring benefits to everybody. The SMC’s annual report highlighted the importance of developing a comprehensive strategy to address the social mobility challenge, rather than relying on quick fixes or piecemeal policies.
The Consequences of Inaction
The consequences of inaction on social mobility are severe. The risk of not being in education, employment, and training (NEET) is more than double if you come from a disadvantaged background and have low qualifications. The proportion of NEETs is highest in the north-east and north-west of England, followed by the East Midlands and West Midlands. Alan Milburn, the former health secretary, described this as a "national outrage… a social injustice and an economic catastrophe". He will lead a major review into the causes of young people out of work or education, which was announced last week. The review aims to understand the root causes of youth unemployment and develop a system that supports young people in making the most of their lives.
The Way Forward
The government has acknowledged the crisis of youth unemployment and has asked Alan Milburn to help build a system that supports young people. The government spokesperson said that nearly 1 million young people in Britain are not in education, employment, or training, and that this number has been rising for four years. The spokesperson emphasized that this is a crisis that cannot be ignored and that the government is committed to bringing forward the biggest employment reforms in a generation. However, critics argue that more needs to be done to address the underlying causes of social mobility and to develop a coherent strategy to tackle entrenched inequalities. The SMC’s report and Francis’s warning serve as a call to action for the government to develop a comprehensive approach to social mobility, one that addresses the complexities of the issue and provides a clear vision for the future.