Scotland takes steps to mitigate UK funding policy
A further £278,784 is being made available to six organisations supporting people subject to No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).
The grants will support projects in Edinburgh and Glasgow which are helping people subject to the UK Government policy which imposes conditions on someone due to their immigration status and restricts access to welfare, housing, and financial support.
The projects receiving support focus on access to essentials, including food, clothing, essential travel and digital access. Outreach and advocacy support will also be delivered to help people understand and access essential services and maintain support networks.
The Scottish Government has repeatedly urged the UK Government to suspend its policy to enable people to access public services and health advice during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This is a second round of funding and brings the total grants awarded through the Immediate Priorities Fund specifically for NRPF support during COVID-19 to £553,174.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “These projects are part of the Scottish Government’s efforts to provide support for everyone living in our communities during COVID-19 and contribute to our overall response to the pandemic.
“The Scottish Government as well as many stakeholders have urged the UK Government to lift No Recourse to Public Funds restrictions during the pandemic, so far without success.
“Given the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, it is crucial that people can access public services and also health guidance, the majority of which is provided online, keep in touch with friends, family and networks and access the accommodation and support they need to be safe.”
The six organisations receiving funding are:
Community InfoSource
Govan Community Project
Refugee Survival Trust
Refuweegee
Positive Action in Housing
The Welcoming
All are based in Glasgow, except for The Welcoming, which is in Edinburgh.
The funding support is for a 12 week project proposed by the grant recipient in response to the immediate needs of people who have limited support options due to NRPF restrictions.
Under the first round of grants, £274,390 was distributed between the six organisations to support 12 week projects which ran between April and July.
Further support is available to people subject to NRPF through wider COVID-19 response, including:
the £350 million Communities Funding Package announced in March (which the Immediate Priorities Fund is part of) provided funding to local authorities and third sector organisations to support people across communities. This new funding is not restricted by NRPF.ince 23 March, the Scottish Government has provided more than £1.5 million to third sector organisations to enable them to provide emergency hotel accommodation and support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This includes people who are rough sleeping or have NRPF.
£20 million has been made available to local authorities as a flexible fund to tackle financial insecurity. This is not restricted under NRPF and Local Authorities can use this funding to support people unable to afford essentials like food or fuel; they can also top-up Scottish Welfare Fund and Discretionary Housing Payment allocations.
a discretionary payment, equivalent to the Self Isolation Support Grant, can be provided to people with NRPF who are working on low incomes and would lose earnings where they need to self-isolate.
Aberlour report reveals a level of poverty that is ‘fundamental and absolute’ with majority of families requesting emergency cash to buy food, utilities and clothing
6 in 10 families who applied to the fund could not afford to feed their children
1 in 2 families could not afford to heat their homes
Scottish children’s charity, Aberlour has published a new report which warns thousands more families are at risk of falling into poverty due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aberlour issued the warning after the true extent of increased demand on its Urgent Assistance Fund was revealed in the new report, which was prepared by Professor Morag Treanor from the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) at Heriot-Watt University.
Between March and August this year the charity gave out over £370,000 in emergency cash grants, with demand for the fund increasing by over 1,000% based on the same time period last year, while the value of grants given out increased by 52%. In total 3,264 children were supported by the fund.
Analysis of the cash donations has revealed that applications for funding came from 31 of the 32 Local Authorities across Scotland[1] from families that were desperate for help, with the majority of applications coming from the Glasgow area. Almost all of the applications received were for basic essentials from families who were unable to afford to feed their children (60%), unable to afford to keep their homes warm (50%), and who couldn’t afford to clothe their children adequately (29%).
The report also found that 71 per cent of the applications were made by single parents, despite single parent families only making up 25 per cent of the population in Scotland[2]. Meanwhile, Aberlour found the number one reason for families requiring emergency cash was because of parental mental health issues (17% of families), which shows the hugely negative impact the pandemic is having on people’s mental health.
Other applications were for bedding, baby supplies or to replace essential white goods in the home including fridges, washing machines and cookers.
The recent labour report release by the Office of National Statistics (on 10 November) has found that the UK’s unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in the three months to September, up from 4.5%, and redundancies rose to a record high of 314,000 during the same period pushing more families towards the edge of poverty.
This November Aberlour has launched its urgent ‘Surviving Winter Appeal’ to raise funds that will go towards tackling poverty and inequality across Scotland.
SallyAnn Kelly, Chief Executive of Aberlour Children’s Charity warned:“When the lockdown started, we feared that it would have a devastating impact on families living in or on the edge of poverty. This has sadly proved to be the case.
“While our services have continued to support children and families throughout Scotland, and our supporters have donated magnificent sums to our Urgent Assistance Fund, we need to continue to raise more money to sustain our vital work and reach more families at risk of falling through the cracks.”
Professor Morag Treanor from the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) at Heriot-Watt University who wrote the report, said:“What is striking here is that all of the applications made to the Urgent Assistance Fund were for basic essentials that are needed to survive.
“This demonstrates that there is a level of need across families in Scotland that is really quite fundamental and absolute, and on a higher scale than we have seen for some time.”
A family support worker, who referred many families to Aberlour, said:“It was particularly tough for the families referred to Aberlour who had been doing quite well and managing fine financially, and never had to worry about the benefit system.
“All of a sudden, they or their partner lost their job, and they couldn’t afford to pay the bills or put food on the table. That for them was a huge shock; when you have gone from managing, feeling really quite confident about your monthly budget, and then that just falls down overnight.
“It wasn’t just the financial impact, but the emotional impact too. One parent came to us and asked, how do I feed my children?! I have no money left. That was the biggest change from COVID, families who have never struggled before, their worlds were suddenly torn apart.”
Case study – Sue’s story
Sue lives in Falkirk with her husband and six children. Sue first found out about Aberlour three years ago. Her son Luke, who was only 11 at the time, was having problems at school.
He has ADHD and autism, and it was clear to her that he wasn’t getting the support he needed with his education. No one was listening to her, until Angela, a Support Family Worker from Aberlour stepped in. Angela’s job is to help children like Luke and their families with whatever issues they may be facing, before they get out of control.
Together, Angela and Sue worked with the school so Luke could have the same opportunity to thrive as every other child. As Aberlour says, “A bad start shouldn’t mean a bad end”. Luke’s situation began to improve, and he started to do much better.
Then COVID hit.
Now Sue didn’t just have to deal with Luke’s issues – she also had to worry about where the next meal was coming from. Her husband was furloughed, so their income took a heavy hit.
Bills and debts began to mount up, and feeding the children became a big challenge. Her family tried to help with the grocery shops whenever they could, but they were forced to start using a foodbank. The family also started to struggle to find enough money to keep the electricity meter topped up, and the warning beep was a constant reminder that money was about to run out.
It was then Sue decided to get back in touch with Angela. She helped Sue access an emergency cash grant from Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund, which meant she was able to buy food to feed the children and top up the electricity meter to keep them warm. They are also working together on a longer-term plan to get on top of the family’s finances.
Sue said: “Before lockdown things were starting to get back on track for us. Don’t get me wrong, we still had our ups and downs but we were coping and Luke was doing much better.
Then, when COVID hit, things quickly started to get worse. I was embarrassed about what people would think when I started using the food bank, and on top of that with the whole family at home and a new baby to keep warm our utility bills were much bigger than before. I just felt hopeless.
The help we got was absolutely fantastic. I can’t think how I would have done it without Aberlour. It’s more than just help for the children, it’s emotional help for us as well. I know that Angela will always be there at the end of the phone. She was there for us before the pandemic, during lockdown, and I know she will still be there whenever I need her help in the future.”
Over 250,000 people working for almost 7,000 real Living Wage Employers throughout the country are set for a vital pay boost as the new Living Wage rates rise to £9.50 across the UK (20p increase), and £10.85 in London (10p increase), supporting workers and families through the pandemic.
The Living Wage rates are the only rates independently calculated based on what people need to live on.
These organisations join a network of almost 7,000 employers across the UK, including two-fifths of the FTSE 100 companies, household names including Aviva, Nationwide, Everton FC, and Brewdog, as well as thousands of small businesses, who are choosing to pay the real Living Wage to ensure all staff earn a wage that meets the real cost of living, and covers everyday needs.
Research conducted by Cardiff Business School has demonstrated the significant impact of the Living Wage campaign since the start of the pandemic.
Over 250,000 workers have benefitted from an additional £200 million since the start of lockdown, including 130,000 key workers. Since 2011 over £1.3bn in extra wages has gone to workers and families through the Living Wage.
The UK rate is 78p per hour more than the government minimum wage (for over 25s) and the London Living Wage is £2.13 per hour higher.
A full-time worker paid the new £9.50 real Living Wage will receive over £1,500 in additional wages annually compared to the current Government minimum. For a full-time worker in London this figure rises to over £4,000.
The announcement comes as new research by the Living Wage Foundation has demonstrated the scale of low pay during the pandemic, with 5.5 milion jobs (20.3% of employee jobs) still paying less than the real Living Wage.
Northern Ireland had the highest proportion of jobs paying below the Living Wage (25.3%) and Scotland the lowest (15.2%).
Laura Gardiner, Living Wage Foundation Director, said: “It’s an incredibly challenging time for us all, but today’s new Living Wage rates will give a boost to hundreds of thousands of UK workers, including thousands of key and essential workers like cleaners, care workers, and delivery drivers who have kept our economy going.
“Since the start of the pandemic employers have continued to sign up to a real Living Wage. During Living Wage Week it’s right that we celebrate those employers that have done right by workers and families, providing them with much needed security and stability even when times are hard. These are the employers that will allow us to recover and rebuild from this crisis.”
The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, said:“As our leaders continue to grapple with managing this pandemic, it is critical that all of our workers are kept in the heart of all quarantine management and recovery plans.
“Throughout this pandemic, we have depended on those of us who have selflessly put their work ahead of their own health and wellbeing for the continued functioning of our society.
“Over the past few months, we have recognised and applauded their fantastic work; now, this Living Wage Week, it is time we do the morally right thing and follow this recognition with well-deserved reward, paying them what they need to live. It is right to be paid a fair day’s wage.”
Gerald Mason, Senior Vice President of Tate and Lyle Sugars, said: “Tate & Lyle Sugars is proud to have been formally accredited as a Living Wage employer.
“It has been the cleaners, security guards and catering staff who have kept our factories clean, safe and well-fed over the last 6 difficult months. We’re pleased to recognise their value and role in helping us feed the nation.”
Loraine Martins, Network Rail’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion, said: “I am delighted that Network Rail has been accredited as a Real Living Wage employer. While we already pay our 41,000 employees the Real Living Wage, official accreditation by the Living Wage Foundation means that thousands of rail workers in our supply chain will also benefit.
“The varied work that rail staff carry out on our trains, in our stations and on our tracks has never been more important than in recent months, where they have helped to keep Britain connected in challenging times by running a safe and reliable service for key workers and others relying on the railway.
“Our work with contractors and the Living Wage Foundation will ensure that railway staff are paid appropriately for their vital work.”
Owen, Team Member of TTK Confectionary Nottingham, said:“The Real Living Wage has allowed me to pay my bills and save for the first time.
“I am saving for driving lessons and a car. I feel valued and appreciated and that my hard work and dedication has been recognised through the introduction of the Living Wage.”
Oliver, a delivery rider at e-cargobikes.com, said: “Earning a Living Wage means I am able to support a household, including my partner, and takes a huge load from my shoulders.
“To be employed by an organisation that not only treats people with respect but backs that up with decent pay means that I feel valued in a way that no other flexible work has provided.
“The psychological benefit of this will extend further than me and reminds me that I work for a company that sees further than the person as an employee, but also sees their capacity to contribute to wider society when treated fairly.”
77% increase as more people on low incomes seek support
The amount paid out in crisis grants to people in need increased by more than three quarters in the early stages of lockdown, latest figures show.
The Scottish Welfare Fund awarded £5.2 million in crisis grants between April and June 2020, up 77 per cent on the same period last year.
The number of crisis grants rose by 63 per cent over the quarter, peaking in April when twice as many were awarded than in April 2019.
The most common reason given by applicants, covering 45 per cent of cases, was that they had exhausted their usual income and benefits.
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “These latest figures demonstrate that we were right to ensure our Scottish Welfare Fund was increased – just one of many actions taken to ensure there is additional financial support to people coping with the economic impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19).
“The leading reason people apply for emergency help is that their benefits or other income has been spent.
“While the Scottish Government works to improve provision for children and families facing poverty, we continue to have to spend money to protect the most vulnerable in our communities from UK benefit cuts.
“We are introducing the Scottish Child Payment to tackle child poverty head on, opening for applications next month, with the first payments to start from February 2021. Together with the Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, this will provide over £5,200 of financial support for families by the time their first child turns six – and more than £4,900 for second and subsequent children.”
Scottish Welfare Fund Statistics: Update to 30 June 2020 can be found here.
A £30 million package of funding is being made available to local authorities to support people facing financial hardship as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19), including money to provide free school meals over the school holidays.
Local authorities will be given flexibility to use £20 million, previously held in reserve for the Scottish Welfare Fund, to support people in their communities.
A further £10 million has been made available so councils can continue providing free school meals through the winter breaks with future funding confirmed to extend support over Easter.
Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “No one should be struggling to put food on the table, keep the lights on, or stay warm at home in the midst of this pandemic.
“With continuing uncertainty around Brexit and the furlough scheme being scaled back we are doing all we can to ensure the right support gets to people at the right time in the right way.
“We know a healthy meal during the school day helps children to learn – but right now it’s an essential to support families at such a difficult time. This money will offer nutritious free meals for children or allow families to get food they desperately need.
“Those experiencing financial hardship can currently apply to the Scottish Welfare Fund and seek advice on which benefits they can receive. However, this will not be suitable for everyone: some people are not eligible for crisis grants or already receive the full benefits they are entitled to, while others may need immediate support with food and essentials.
“We are giving local authorities greater flexibility over funding held in reserve for the Scottish Welfare Fund, to support local action and address people’s needs. This may include supplementing local budgets for the Scottish Welfare Fund to meet demand, providing financial support to tackle food insecurity or to meet fuel costs, or boosting local funding for Discretionary Housing Payments.
“Additionally we are making further resource available to continue the provision of Free School Meals over forthcoming holidays, including Easter.”
Chair of the Poverty and Inequality Commission Bill Scott, said: “We welcome this much needed additional help for low income families and individuals. The funding for Free School Meals during the Christmas, February and Easter breaks will come as a great relief for many hard pressed parents.
“We would urge local authorities to use the flexibility given to them by Scottish Government to ensure that every penny of extra help available gets to those who need it most.”
COSLA’s spokesperson for Resources Councillor Gail Macgregor, and spokesperson for Community Wellbeing Councillor Kelly Parry said: “The impacts of the virus have not been felt equally across society and we welcome this funding which can be used flexibly by councils, enabling them to provide more support for those who need it most in our communities.
“Local authorities will deploy it in ways that best meets local circumstance, to provide the most effective support to those experiencing financial hardship, for example through grants, addressing food insecurity, or support for fuel costs.
“We know that as winter arrives and the furlough scheme draws to a close unfortunately more adults and children are likely to need assistance to ensure they are fed and warm. Local Government is the anchor in our communities and is able to provide advice, support and assistance to those that need it.”
Families’ needs are escalating while support services are diminishing, new research reveals
Children’s charities call on Scottish Government to invest in family support without delay
Years of austerity have had a harrowing impact on vulnerable families in Scotland with some now facing destitution, reveals NSPCC Scotland and Barnardo’s Scotland research published today.
The report, Challenges from the Frontline – Revisited, highlights the devastating impact of the rollout of welfare reform on children and their families and the effects of local government funding cuts on the support available to them.
The research, a snapshot of life before Covid-19, describes rising need in the face of lessening resource, with some families struggling to obtain adequate food, secure housing and basic necessities. Despite long-standing commitment by the Scottish Government to early intervention and parenting support, the research found that too many families were coming to services already at crisis point.
Service managers told researchers that welfare reform had financially punished a whole section of the population.
One said: “…because so many of our families are on universal credit, that does not allow them to have a standard of living that meets the needs of those adults and children within the household. It simply does not.”
Another said: “It’s the poverty and disadvantage that we see now. It was always there, but it’s certainly exacerbated by the welfare reform over the past few years. The rise of foodbanks here is massive. Families use them on a regular basis and you can see that, families who come to us and are really struggling.”
NSPCC Scotland and Barnardo’s Scotland are now calling on the Scottish Government to press ahead, as a matter of urgency, with the Independent Care Review’s vision of making intensive family support available to all who need it.
The review’s Promise report sets out a blueprint of how this should be done.
The children’s charities also say the Scottish Government must articulate a clear vision for family income in Scotland, and set out how – within the current levers available – it will ensure that all families have enough money to live with dignity.
Today’s report compares findings from research carried out with family support services in Scotland in 2013 and 2019. It concludes that in the intervening period severe hardship has affected parents’ mental health and family relationships, so that those now being referred have more complex difficulties and greater needs.
This is amid a landscape of local authorities and other public bodies continuing to face financial challenges. The research found evidence of family support services closing or being offered on a far more limited basis than had been the case in 2013.
Matt Forde, NSPCC Scotland head of service, said: “Our research reveals that families were facing destitution, isolation and mental health struggles before the Covid-19 pandemic began.
“We found that against a backdrop of years of austerity there was escalating need for help from families who were struggling with more complex problems, being met with less support than before.
“We know that adverse and traumatic experiences in childhood can have a profound impact on a person’s life.
“And it is crucial this unacceptable situation, now compounded by the Covid-19 crisis, is addressed with a matter of urgency.”
Martin Crewe, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland, said: “Supporting vulnerable families mitigates social inequality and improves children’s life opportunities.
“The Coronavirus crisis provides a huge opportunity to make meaningful, sustainable, transformative change. We need to harness the desire to do things differently, to reach out to families with a strengthened social safety net to prevent longer term difficulties developing in young people’s lives.
“The Independent Care Review’s Promise has given us a blueprint for family support and we must deliver on this without delay.”
Scotland must show “bolder ambition” if it is to meet targets for tackling child poverty, a new report by the Joesph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has warned.
Over one million Scots – one in six people – are living ‘precarious and insecure’ lives, according to JRF’s latest Poverty in Scotland annual report – and the situation is likely to become even more critical with the ongoing cornavirus and the imminent end of the furlough scheme this month.
Child poverty now stands at 24% – almost one in four of our children now lives in poverty. The Scottish Government’s target is to reduce this figure to 18% or less by 2023 – 24 -but unless there is radical action this target is unlikely to be met.
JRF’s associate director for Scotland Jim McCormick, who also chaired Edinburgh’s Poverty Commission, said we are at a “crucial moment”.
“The decisions we make will determine whether we reach our ambitious child poverty targets by the middle of the next parliament,” he said. “As the shape of our economy changes, it is vital to do all we can to protect people’s jobs, homes and living standards, so more families are not pulled into poverty.”
The JRF report calls on the Scottish Government to be more ambitious.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said the government is ‘absolutely committed’ to tackling child poverty and said initiatives including Scottish Child Payments, Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods are evidence of this. The spokesperson called for the UK Government to match Scotland’s ambition.
Education Vice Convener Cllr Alison Dickie writes about the pressing issue of child poverty in Edinburgh:
Let’s talk about stigma, even ‘poor kids’ and how it fuels inequality.
Posh pickles and peppered crackers. Years ago, as a young family down Glasgow way, we made some kind soul feel good when they gifted us an exotic hamper. At the time, I remember thinking that it must have been worth about £50, money that could have bought the school trousers our sons needed.
This, and the wider experience of being worried about the next penny, our reliance on housing benefit, and the debt that became a problem, has given me some understanding about the complexity of poverty today.
Lockdown, and its significant impact on lives, has helped many others better understand how we can be just one life change or support network away from becoming financially vulnerable.
We live in an affluent city but there’s deep inequality, where 23% of our children live in poverty – as high as one in three in some areas. And these children and families struggle to get the smallest and most basic of items, never mind homes in this city of shocking rents and house prices. Contrary to popular opinion, 66% of these children come from families where at least one parent works.
In my own classrooms, there was the period stained skirt not to be forgotten, and the PE kit that was never coming out that wash.
And as Vice Convener of Education, I still remember the pupil who shared her family’s shame of walking through the streets to their homeless accommodation, bin bags of belongings clutched in their hands.
Pickled gifts are nice and food provision is vital, but they won’t end child poverty. And neither will a mindset that continues to see the deficit of ‘poories’ and the ‘vulnerable’, rather than the strengths that every child and their family can bring to the future of our city if we get alongside them for the long haul.
Sometimes we recreate inequality. Think of the bulging schools we deem the best, often mistaking levels of academic performance for loaded advantage, or our hesitancy to sit down, learn and work with anyone.
What too of the postcodes judged, or those loud, already empowered, voices who too heavily influence decisions? And those annual SQA results, the prominence given to them when we say we equally value the strengths and qualifications of every young person?
Next week, the Edinburgh Poverty Commission will launch its findings, and their report will inform the Council’s second Child Poverty Action Plan.
Education, in its most holistic sense, is key, from the equity framework that increasingly informs practice across our schools, to helping families find the benefits to which they are entitled through income maximisation, and the mentoring and wraparound support too.
This, and building a stigma-free environment that supports everyone, from a focus on nurture and wellbeing, to digital devices for all, and the roll out of 1140 early years places to help families back to work.
So, ‘All I am saying, is give every child a chance!’
Please find attached a zoom invitation to a meeting looking at Community Wealth Building.
The meeting will be hosted by Lesley Hinds, Chair of North Edinburgh Arts, with guest speaker Councillor Joe Cullinane, Leader of North Ayrshire Council. Please find attached a link to North Ayrshire’s Community Wealth Building strategy for information prior to the discussion.
I this is of interest, and that you will be able to join the discussion on the 22nd. No registration is needed, simply use the link in the attachment, however it would be useful if you can reply to me in advance if you are going to attend to give me an idea of numbers.
Yours sincerely
Kate Wimpress / Director
North Edinburgh Arts, 15a Pennywell Court, EH4 4TZ
NEA North Edinburgh Arts is inviting you to a Community Wealth Building meeting, by Zoom.
Research highlights England’s local councils with the lowest social mobility opportunities
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, a new report shows today.
In the most detailed study of regional social mobility ever conducted in the UK, the report from the Social Mobility Commission identifies local councils with the worst and the best social mobility in England.
In the “coldest spots” those from disadvantaged backgrounds, entitled to free school meals, have little chance of making a better life for themselves or their children. They also earn much less than their more affluent peers.
These areas, which range across England, include:
Chiltern
Bradford
Thanet
Bolton
Wolverhampton
Kingston-upon-Hull
Fenland
Mansfield
Walsall
Gateshead
Kirklees
St Helens
Dudley
Bolton
Wigan
Individuals aged 28 from disadvantaged families in these councils 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.
Steven Cooper, interim co-chair of the commission said: “These findings are very challenging. They 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.“
Areas with high social mobility, where those from poorer backgrounds earn more and the pay gap with those from affluent families is smaller include:
The results, covering around 320 local councils in England and 800,000 young adults, show a postcode lottery for disadvantaged people. In areas with high social mobility, disadvantaged young adults earn twice as much as those with similar backgrounds in areas with low social mobility – on average, over £20,000 compared with under £10,000. Annual earnings from this group range from £6,900 (Chiltern) to £24,600 (Uttlesford).
Councils with the lowest earnings for disadvantaged individuals include:
Bradford
Hyndburn
Gateshead
Thanet
But they also include:
West Devon
Sheffield
Malvern Hills
Kensington and Chelsea.
Those with the highest earnings include:
Broxbourne
East Hertfordshire
Forest Heath
Havering
Uttlesford
Wokingham
But those from poor backgrounds also face unfairness on their doorstep. Pay gaps between the most and least deprived individuals in local authorities with the poorest social mobility are 2.5 times higher than in areas of high social mobility.
Education, often blamed for social mobility differences, is only part of the answer. In areas with high social mobility, gaps in educational achievement account for almost the entire pay difference between the most and least advantaged sons. On average it accounts for 80% of the difference.
However, in local authorities where social mobility is low it is much harder to escape deprivation. In such areas, up to 33% of the pay gap between the highest and lowest earners is down to non-education factors, like local labour markets and family background.
Disadvantaged workers are restricted by factors including limited social networks (fewer internships); inability to move to more prosperous areas; limited or no financial support from family; less resilience to economic turbulence due to previous crisis such as 2008 financial crash and less developed soft skills.
The commission is now urging regional and community leaders to use the findings to help draw up tailored, sustained, local programmes to boost social mobility, building on the approach in some Opportunity Areas.
The commission will also ask the government to extend its current Opportunity Areas programme – which gives support to 12 councils – to include several more authorities identified as the areas with the most entrenched disadvantage.
Professor Lindsey Macmillan, Director of CEPEO at UCL and Research Fellow at IFS said: “This new evidence highlights the need for a joined up-approach across government, third sector organisations, and employers.
“The education system alone cannot tackle this postcode lottery – a strategy that considers the entire life experience, from birth through to adulthood, is crucial to ensuring fairer life chances for all.”
Laura van der Erve, Research Economist at IFS and co-author of the report, said: “Not only do children from disadvantaged backgrounds have considerably lower school attainment and lower adult earnings than their peers from more affluent backgrounds, we also find large differences in the outcomes of children from disadvantaged backgrounds across the country.
“This highlights that children’s opportunities in England are still defined by both the family they were born into and the area they grew up in.”
Key findings
Social mobility in England is a postcode lottery, with large differences across areas in both the adult pay of disadvantaged adults, and the size of the pay gap for those from deprived families, relative to those from affluent families.
Disadvantaged young adults in areas with high social mobility can earn twice as much as their counterparts in areas where it is low – over £20,000 compared with under £10,000
Pay gaps between deprived and affluent young adults in areas with low social mobility are 2.5 times larger than those in areas with high social mobility.
In areas of low social mobility, up to 33% of the pay gap is driven by family background and local market factors, over and beyond educational achievement.
Characteristics of the coldest spots: fewer professional and managerial occupations; fewer outstanding schools; higher levels of deprivation and moderate population density.
The Social Mobility Commission is an independent 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 UK and to promote social mobility in England.
