This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Inequality in Britain is “now entrenched from birth to work”, according to a damning report by the government’s social mobility commission that charts failures in education and employment policies that have caused class privilege to become more entrenched.

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“Being born privileged means you are likely to remain privileged. But being born disadvantaged means you may have to overcome a series of barriers to ensure you and your children are not stuck in the same trap,” said Martina Milburn, who took over as chair after mass resignations by commissioners in protest at government policies.

“Our first state of the nation report since our new 12 commissioners were appointed last year shows that social mobility has stagnated over the last four years at virtually all life stages.”

The report highlights how entry into professional occupations is largely dependent on parents’ careers, with children from professional backgrounds 80% more likely to go into a professional occupation such as law or medicine than their less privileged peers, thanks to their connections and their stronger educational qualifications.

“Even when those from working-class backgrounds are successful in entering professional occupations, they earn on average 17% less than their more privileged colleagues,” the report states.

The commission highlighted the “double disadvantages” of class, disability, ethnicity and gender, with women from working-class backgrounds paid 35% less than their affluent male peers within professional occupations, while only one in five people with disabilities from working-class backgrounds were entering the highest occupations.

Technological change also threatens to further entrench those disparities, the report warns: “As automation changes the world of work, these divides could worsen, as workers in low pay and with low qualifications are most at risk of their work being automated, while at the same time are the least likely to access training to re-skill.”

The commission said adult education provision could help redress the qualifications imbalance, but complained that “almost all forms of adult education have been in decline since 2010”.

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Damian Hinds, the education secretary, said: “We must all work together to create change in the lives of the most disadvantaged. I welcome Dame Martina’s leadership in this area, shining a light on where we can continue raising the bar.”

The social mobility commission was established under David Cameron, with the former Labour minister Alan Milburn as chair. After issuing five annual state of the nation reports, the commissioners quit last year, criticising Theresa May’s government for its lack of action.

The 2019 report calls for a expansion of free childcare in England by extending it further for disadvantaged families, with its research highlighting the closure of hundreds of children’s centres. “It is shocking too that 45% of childcare workers are on benefit or tax credits,” the report noted.

The commission also urged the government to expand the existing additional funding for poor pupils in schools to include those aged 16-19 continuing into further and higher education.

The commissioners recommended that a new “student premium” would follow the current pupil premium in England’s schools, targeting funding and focus on raising attainment for disadvantaged students.

The commission said education funding for the 16-19 age group had fallen by 12% since 2012, and was now 8% lower than for secondary schools, which it said had led to cuts in teaching and student support that were harming disadvantaged students.

Among its other proposals, the commission called on the government to pay the voluntary living wage to its employees and contracted workers, including cleaners and catering staff.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said: “The legacy of the Tories will be a country in which shocking levels of inequality have been entrenched.

“The government’s own commission has echoed Labour’s concerns about the devastating impact of children’s centres being closed and school funding being cut, and has called for Labour policies like the expansion of free childcare and increasing funding in further education.”

Campbell Robb, the chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said the report “reinforces what we have been seeing for some time: more people trapped on low incomes and unable to build a better life.

“The government should urgently prioritise investing in skills and better-paid jobs in places where people are locked out of opportunity. This is crucial if we are to strike at the heart of this issue and build an inclusive economy.”