Our country has reached an inflection point, says a June 2017 report from the Social Mobility Commission. If we go on as we have been, the divisions that have opened up in British society are likely to widen.
Time for Change (pdf) identifies barriers to social mobility and analyses twenty years of Government policy in four key areas: early years, including child poverty; education; young people, and work. And provides a series of high-level policy recommendations to Government.
The report:
- finds that Government policies to improve social mobility have failed to deliver enough progress
- calls on current and future governments to learn lessons from mistakes and successes over the last 20 years
- warns that without major reform social and economic divisions within Britain’s society are set to widen
- assigns rag ratings to government policies depending on how successful government has translated policy into social outcomes
Alan Milburn, Chair of the Commission, said:
‘What is so striking about this new analysis is how divided we have become as a nation. A new geographical divide has opened up, a new income divide has opened up and a new generational divide has opened up.’
Read the full report (pdf) or the Guardian’s summary.
