GMB calls for action over social mobility ‘coldspots’ in East of England

East of England

GMB London calls for urgent action in the 10 local authorities in the East of England identified as social mobility "coldspots" in new report from the Social Mobility Commission

GMB London is calling for urgent action to implement the recommendations of the Social Mobility Commission in the 10 local authority areas in the East of England identified as social mobility "coldspots". See notes to editors for copy of the press release issued on 28th November by the Social Mobility Commission.

The areas in the East of England identified as areas in need of urgent action to improve social mobility are Waveney, Fenland, Breckland, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Babergh, Forest Heath, North Norfolk and Ipswich.

These 10 areas are identified in the report which sets out the Social Mobility Index, which ranks all 324 local authorities in England in terms of their social mobility prospects for someone from a disadvantaged background. It uses a range of 16 indicators for every major life stage, from early years through to working lives, to map the nation’s social mobility hotspots and coldspots. A similar, but not comparable, approach is taken for Scotland and Wales.

Warren Kenny, GMB Regional Secretary, said

"GMB has been saying for years that the central focus of all government economic policy should be to bring up the levels of economic activity and earning in all parts of the country up to the level of the best performing areas in London and the South East.

“This report reinforces this message.

“GMB want to see urgent action now in all 10 areas identified by the Social Mobility Commission as ‘coldspots.’

“We want to see all elected representatives and the bodies they sit on committing themselves to actions to bring prosperity and economic development to their areas. We want to see them working with employers and unions and schools and colleges and other bodies to get sustained action to implement the recommendations in this latest report.

In particular we want to see action that all local authorities should all become accredited Living Wage employers and encourage others in their communities to do likewise."

ENDS

Contact: Gary Doolan 07590 262504 or Alan Costello 07974 250946 or GMB Press Office 07526537405

Notes to editors:

1) Social Mobility Commission press release 28 November 2017

State of the Nation 2017: Social Mobility in Great Britain

- Report identifies a stark social mobility postcode lottery in the nation

- The best place for disadvantaged children and young people to progress is Westminster, the worst is West Somerset

- London is pulling away, while rural, coastal and former industrial areas are being left further behind

- Some of the worst places for poor youngsters’ prospects are the richest

A stark social mobility postcode lottery exists in Britain today, where the chances of someone from a disadvantaged background succeeding in life are bound to where they live, the Social Mobility Commission’s State of the Nation report finds today.

The report uncovers a striking geographical divide with London and its surrounding areas pulling away from the rest of the country, while many other parts of the country are being left behind economically and hollowed out socially.

It warns that the UK is in the grip of a self-reinforcing spiral of ever growing division and calls on government to increase its proportion of spending on those parts of the country that most need it. Estimates suggest that the North is £6 billion a year underfunded compared to London.

At the heart of the report is the Social Mobility Index, which ranks all 324 local authorities in England in terms of their social mobility prospects for someone from a disadvantaged background. It uses a range of 16 indicators for every major life stage, from early years through to working lives, to map the nation’s social mobility hotspots and coldspots. A similar, but not comparable, approach is taken for Scotland and Wales.

The report debunks the assumption that a simple north/south divide exists. Instead, it suggests there is a postcode lottery with hotspots and coldspots found in almost every part of the country. London dominates the hotspots, while the East and West Midlands are the worst performing regions. The best-performing local authority area is Westminster and the worst-performing area is West Somerset.

The index finds that the worst-performing areas for social mobility are no longer inner city areas. But remote rural or coastal areas and former industrial areas, especially in the Midlands. Youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds who live there face far higher barriers than those who grow up in cities and their surrounding areas – and in our working lives people face lower rates of pay, fewer top jobs and travel-to-work times nearly four times those of urban residents.

There is also no direct correlation between the affluence of an area and its ability to sustain high levels of social mobility. While richer areas tend to outperform deprived areas in the Index, a number of places buck the trend. Some of the most deprived areas in England are hotspots, including most London boroughs – such as Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham. Conversely, some affluent areas – such as West Berkshire, Cotswold and Crawley - are amongst the worst for offering good education, employment opportunities and affordable housing to their most disadvantaged residents.

The report highlights that local policies adopted by local authorities and employers can influence outcomes for disadvantaged residents. But it warns that there is a mindblowing inconsistency of practice in how to improve social mobility outcomes with little pooling of experience or evidence-based strategies.

The Rt Hon Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility Commission, said: “The country seems to be in the grip of a self-reinforcing spiral of ever-growing division. That takes a spatial form, not just a social one. There is a stark social mobility lottery in Britain today.

“London and its hinterland are increasingly looking like a different country from the rest of Britain. It is moving ahead, as are many of our country’s great cities. But too many rural and coastal areas and the towns of Britain’s old industrial heartlands are being left behind economically and hollowed out socially.

“Tinkering around the edges will not do the trick. The analysis in this report substantiates the sense of political alienation and social resentment that so many parts of Britain feel. A new level of effort is needed to tackle the phenomenon of left-behind Britain. Overcoming the divisions that exist in Britain requires far more ambition and far bigger scale. A less divided Britain will require a more redistributive approach to spreading education, employment and housing prospects across our country.”

Key findings include:

·         London accounts for nearly two-thirds of all social mobility hotspots.

·         The Midlands is the worst region of the country for social mobility for those

from disadvantaged backgrounds – half the local authority areas in the East

Midlands and more than a third in the West Midlands are social mobility

coldspots.

·         Some of the worst-performing areas, such as Weymouth and Portland, and

Allerdale, are rural, not urban.

·         Coastal and older industrial towns – places like Scarborough, Hastings,

Derby and Nottingham – are becoming entrenched social mobility coldspots.

·         Some of the richest places in England, like West Berkshire, Cotswold and Crawley, deliver worse outcomes for their disadvantaged children than places that are much poorer like Sunderland and Tower Hamlets.

·         Apart from London, English cities are punching below their weight on social mobility outcomes. No other city makes it into the top 20 per cent.

·         Early years - Disadvantaged children are 14 percentage points less likely to be school ready at age five in coldspots than hotspots: in 94 areas, under half of disadvantaged children reach a good level of development at age 5.

·         Schools - 51 per cent of London children on free school meals achieve A* to C in English and maths GCSE compared to an average of 36 per cent of children on free school meals in all other English regions: in the best place (Westminster) 63 per cent get good English and maths GCSEs, but in the worst (Isle of Wight) only 27 per cent do.

·         A critical factor in the performance of top local authorities is the number and quality of teachers available. A secondary teacher in the most deprived area is 70 per cent more likely to leave.

·         Schools in rural and coastal areas are isolated and lack partnerships with other schools. In Lancashire and West Yorkshire only 19 per cent of all schools are either in a multi-academy trust or an equivalent trust compared to 35 per cent in north east London and the East of England.

·         Youth – In Kensington and Chelsea, 50 per cent of disadvantaged youngsters make it to university, but in Hastings, Barnsley and Eastbourne, the university participation rate for this group falls to just 10 per cent.

·         One quarter of young people are NEET (not in education, employment or training) in the worst local authority area a year after GCSEs (South Ribble) compared to 1 per cent in North Hertfordshire.

·         Working lives - In 71, largely rural, areas more than 30 per cent of people earn below the voluntary living wage: average wages in the worst performing area, West Somerset, are £312 a week, less than half of the best performing areas of London, Wandsworth, Richmond upon Thames and Westminster.

·         In Bolsover, just 17 per cent of residents are in jobs that are professional and managerial positions compared to 51 per cent in Oxford.

·         City residents face barriers in their working lives with high housing costs and high rates of low paid work, as residents of commuter belts benefit from greater rates of top jobs and more families own their own homes.

·         In Blaby, Rochford and Harborough, 80 per cent of residents own their home but in Tower Hamlets it is just 18 per cent.

Key recommendations:

·         Every local authority should develop an integrated strategy for improving disadvantaged children’s outcomes and that Pupil Premium funds should be invested in evidence-based practice.

·         Local authorities should support collaboration between isolated schools, subsidise transport for disadvantaged young people in isolated areas and encourage Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) to follow the North East LEP’s approach to improving careers support for young people.

·         Local authorities should all become accredited Living Wage employers and encourage others in their communities to do likewise. 

·         Central government should launch a fund to enable schools in rural and coastal areas to partner with other schools to boost attainment.

·         Regional School Commissioners should be given responsibility to work with universities, schools and Teach First to ensure that there is a good supply of teachers in all parts of their regions.

·         The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy should match the Department for Education’s £72 million for the Opportunity Areas to ensure there is a collaborative effort across local education systems and labour markets.

·         Central government should rebalance the national transport budget to deliver a more equal share of investment per person and contribute towards a more regionally balanced economy.