Politics

Education Secretary Justine Greening will today (Thursday 30 March) open a major conference in Westminster aimed at improving social mobility and building a shared agenda for action.

The ‘Left Behind Britain’ conference, which is hosted by the Social Mobility Commission and University of Bath, brings together 200 political leaders, policy makers, academics, charities, think tanks, civil servants and business leaders to increase understanding, share knowledge and explore new solutions to one of the greatest challenges facing our country today.

The Social Mobility Commission’s recent ‘State of the Nation’ report to Parliament found that there is a new geography of disadvantage in Britain today which goes beyond a crude north-south divide.

It found that low levels of social mobility are not just impeding the poorest in society, but are holding back whole tranches of middle, as well as low-income families, the so-called ‘treadmill families’, who are running harder and harder but standing still.

From the early years through to education and the labour market, the 1-day conference examines the causes and consequences of declining social mobility in many parts of Britain today.

It will focus on the growing geographical divide which has seen many parts of Britain ‘left behind’ in terms of social mobility. 65 parts of Britain are identified by the Social Mobility Commission as being social mobility cold spots – those with the poorest education and employment prospects.

Drawing on lessons for research and policy from international evidence, the conference will also look at how government, councils, employers, universities, colleges, schools and communities can work together with one core purpose: a more level playing field of opportunity in Britain. It will assess the influence that policy has had on social mobility trends and consider how policy makers might now respond to declining mobility.

Speaking ahead of the event, the Rt Hon Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility Commission, said:

Social mobility is arguably the most important and challenging issue facing British society today. How to make our country one where aspiration and ability, not background or birth, determine where people get to in their lives.

Tinkering with change will not turn it around. A new and far bigger national effort will be needed if progress is to be made on reducing poverty and improving mobility. That will mean long-term and fundamental reforms to our country’s education system and local economies and in the labour and housing markets.

Today’s conference is aimed at developing a shared agenda for social progress to create a more level playing field of opportunity. One that can unite educators and employers – indeed the whole nation – to action.

Professor Paul Gregg of the University of Bath, Department of Social and Policy Sciences added:

For children educated in the 1980s, Britain had an unenviable record of being a society where a person’s origin determined their destiny. Being among the least socially mobile countries in Europe and performing less well than it has had in previous generations, this has made social mobility a key issue for social policy in the UK.

The policy challenge now is how all actors in society – from government to schools to employers – can best contribute to turning this around for the current generation of school aged children.

1) The Social Mobility Commission is an advisory, non-departmental public body established under the Life Chances Act 2010 as modified by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. It has a duty to assess progress in improving social mobility in the United Kingdom and to promote social mobility in England. It currently consists of four commissioners and is supported by a small secretariat.

2) The commission board currently comprises:

• Alan Milburn (chair)
• Baroness Gillian Shephard (deputy chair)
• Paul Gregg, Professor of Economic and Social Policy, University of Bath
• David Johnston, Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation

3) The functions of the commission include:

• Monitoring progress on improving social mobility
• Providing published advice to ministers on matters relating to social mobility
• Undertaking social mobility advocacy

For further information

Please contact Kirsty Walker on 020 7227 5371 / 07768 446167 or kirsty.walker@education.gov.uk

Over 300 guests attended the event at Lancaster House, including the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Mr Liu Xiaoming, and a wealth of British and Chinese business representatives, government officials, parliamentarians and China Chevening Scholars.

The guests at Lancaster House were treated to a series of performances and displays from Weli Creative’s ‘Magical Lantern’ exhibition, a string ensemble from the Guildhall School of Music, and a collection of Chinese and British manuscripts from the British Library. Also on display was ClothCat Animations’ new children’s series Luo Bai Bei, which is due to be screened in China and the UK later this year. Other exhibitors included the Victoria & Albert Museum, the British Museum and B&H Fashion.

Mr Sharma and the Chinese Ambassador each delivered a speech at the event, which followed the official anniversary on 13 March, before the London Symphony Orchestra performed a recital for the attendees.

UK Minister for Asia, Mr Alok Sharma MP, said:

Throughout the last 45 years, the UK-China relationship has been steadily strengthening. Today we see cooperation at an all-time high and a global partnership that is delivering real benefits for both nations.

Personal ties and mutual understanding are at the heart of any successful relationship. That is why promoting business, cultural and educational links is so important to us. Forty-five years ago, there were 200 Chinese students in the UK and today we welcome over 150,000 Chinese students at universities, colleges and schools across the UK. Through our Generation UK programme, we are working to increase the number of British students studying in China from 5000 currently to 20,000 by 2020.

As we look ahead to the future for the UK and China, it is important to reflect on what our two countries have achieved over the last 45 years. Trade between our two countries has increased 200-fold. We want to do even more. We are working together to address some of the significant challenges facing the world today, such as conflict in the Middle East and international terrorism. Our Infrastructure Alliance will allow us to work together to build the capacity of third countries, and we are tackling global health issues such as anti-microbial resistance.

Since our countries established full Ambassadorial relations, the pace and scope of what we have achieved, individually and together, is extraordinary. We want to continue to build the links between our two countries into the future. I strongly believe that we have a great deal to look forward to.

The Minister personally thanked the sponsors for the event: The Bank of China; Ernst & Young; HSBC; and Huawei.

The UK has more dialogues with China than any other European country. Chinese visitors to Britain have doubled in five years, with around 150,000 Chinese students now studying across the UK. Last year, the UK Government funded 98 China Chevening Scholars and 15 China Chevening Fellows from 18 different provinces and municipalities to attend postgraduate study at UK universities.

Mr Sharma has visited Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou and Xiamen, as well as Hong Kong, since his appointment as Minister for Asia last year. Prime Minister Theresa May attended the G20 Summit last September in Hangzhou and will visit China again later this year.

Further information