Disadvantage blocks upward mobility

The effect of deprivation in dozens of English local authorities is now so persistent that some families face being locked into disadvantage for generations unless the right action is taken, according to a report by the Social Mobility Commission.

The study, The long shadow of deprivation: differences in opportunities across England, identifies local councils in England with the worst and the best social mobility. The research links educational data and HMRC earnings to identify young boys from disadvantaged families entitled to free school meals.

The boys, who were born between 1986 and 1988, were followed from aged 16 to 28. The results, covering around 320 local councils in England and 800,000 young adults, show a postcode lottery for disadvantaged people.

The research found that individuals aged 28 from disadvantaged families earn on average just over half the amount of those from similar backgrounds in the most mobile areas. They also earn much less than those of the same age from more affluent families living nearby.

And it finds that education, often blamed for social mobility differences, is only part of the answer.

Steven Cooper, interim co-chair of the commission said the findings ”tell a story of deep unfairness, determined by where you grow up. It is not a story of north versus south or urban versus rural; this is a story of local areas side by side with vastly different outcomes for the disadvantaged sons growing up there.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-long-shadow-of-deprivation-differences-in-opportunities