Social mobility and the economy

This debate pack has been prepared ahead of the debate on Social mobility and the economy, to be held in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 28 March at 9.30AM. This debate will be led by Justine Greening MP.

Recent debates in Westminster Hall on social mobility have included: 

Social Mobility (Wales)

HC Deb 19 Dec 2017 cc320-344WH

Government policies on social mobility

HC Deb 11 Jul 2017 c 35-62WH

The Library’s Briefings for these debates contain links to earlier articles, reports and press notices: Social Mobility in Wales and Government Policies on Social Mobility.

The Social Mobility Commission Report State of the Nation Report 2017 (published the on 28 November 2017) warned that:

Britain is a deeply divided nation. Those divisions take many forms. Class, income, gender, race. In recent years, each has been the subject of much scrutiny. But one form of division that has received far less attention is that based on geography. In this, our Fifth Annual Report, we focus on this neglected place-based divide. […]

In our previous annual reports we have focused on our country’s lamentable social mobility track record. It has become obvious that the scale of the problem extends well beyond the bottom decile in society or the few thousand youngsters who miss out on a top university. There is a fracture line running deep through our labour and housing markets and our education system. Those on the wrong side of this divide are losing out and falling behind.