Where you are born matters more than ever.
Published by the CSJ as part of it’s leader column series on 1.12.2017
There were two significant events in the world of social justice this week; the publication of the Social Mobility Commission’s (SMC) State of the Nation and the Government’s own Industrial Strategy White Paper.
The SMC publication follows four previous reports on economic and social divisions across the country, often defined by parental income, educational attainment, race and gender. Their 2017 tome, however, studied social mobility from a geographic perspective. The reality is stark.
Where a child is born and raised plays a huge part in determining their outcomes. This is no longer a question of the North versus the South, but more an issue of London versus the Rest.
While London and the surrounding commuter belt is synonymous with opportunity and wealth, the rest of the UK is becoming less mobile. The SMC compiled an index of the 324 local authorities in the country, ranking them according to the level of social and economic mobility. London’s authorities make up 20 of the top 23 social mobility ‘hotspots’ on the index. The bottom 20 come from the South West, Midlands and the North.
This mirrors the voices we are hearing from our own Alliance of 350 frontline poverty-fighting charities, but also that those places that ranked very low on the social mobility index were also strong Leave areas in the EU referendum last year.
The insecurities and anger people feel at lost opportunities are real and not just political parlance explaining the shock referendum result.
Our recent report on UK productivity also highlighted this glaring imbalance between London and the regions and focussed on three themes to remedy the situation; (i) boosting business investment back to internationally competitive levels with the intention of spurring innovation, (ii) supporting a proper vocational education revolution in the UK, ensuring no child leaves school without the requisite skills in a modern economy, and (iii) devolving financial power to local authorities, helping each locality develop its own competitive advantage.
We are pleased that these three themes featured in the Government’s industrial strategy paper released on Monday.
The Government is looking to boost productivity and earning power by focussing on five foundations in our modern economy; ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and place. We were pleased with these five foundations as something the CSJ can build on and also the specific policies that the Government outlined; a commitment to raise R+D, funding for frontier technologies, a focus on technical education and STEM skills, and a £1.7 billion Transforming Cities Fund.
However, there were certain policies missing; greater support for FE colleges, devolving more spending power to local authorities including the setting of business rates, wider corporate tax simplification, and support for better employment practices.
There is also a greater role for civil society. Harnessing the potential of communities will do far more than government or businesses alone can.
But broadly speaking, the Government recognizes the strong geographic element that is both driving our productivity slowdown and making it harder for children in certain parts of the country from getting on in life.
