The Social Mobility Commission has released its much-anticipated State of the Nation 2024 report, shedding light on the evolving landscape of social mobility across the UK. This comprehensive report delves into how individuals’ life outcomes—such as income, occupation, housing, education, and wealth—differ from those of their parents.
Enhanced Geographical Reporting
This year, the report introduces significant improvements in geographical reporting, allowing for the visualisation of composite indices by local authority areas for the first time. These indices categorise areas based on various factors, providing a clearer picture of social mobility across the country.
Key Indicators
The report uses several key indicators to assess social mobility which have been mapped at local authority level:
- Conditions of Childhood: Childhood poverty, parental education, and parental occupation.
- Labour Market Opportunities for Young People: Youth unemployment (ages 16-29) and types of employment opportunities.
- Innovation and Growth: Broadband speed, business spending on research and development, and postgraduate education.
- Promising Prospects: Highest qualification levels, occupational levels (professional and working class), and earnings of 25-44 year olds, all adjusted for socio-economic background.
Conditions of Childhood
The report highlights that children growing up in Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, Windsor and Maidenhead enjoy the most favourable conditions of childhood. These areas are characterised by higher parental earnings, education levels, and occupational status. Outside London and the home counties, Trafford and East Dunbartonshire also offer favourable conditions.
Conversely, less favourable conditions are prevalent in the North East of England, coastal cities, industrial and former mining areas like Oldham and Stoke-on-Trent, and some inner-city areas in London.
Labour Market Opportunities
From 2014 to 2022, the ‘north-south divide’ in young people’s labour market opportunities became more pronounced. The most favourable opportunities are found in certain London boroughs and Bristol, where young people are more likely to be in professional occupations and less likely to be unemployed. In contrast, areas with unfavourable opportunities include areas in the north and midlands, such as Birmingham, Hartlepool, and Sunderland, as well as rural areas like Northumberland and the Shetland Islands.
Innovation and Growth
London dominates the list of local authority areas with the most favourable environments for innovation and growth. The top six areas are:
- Camden and City of London
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Richmond upon Thames
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
Favourable environments are also found in Cardiff, Milton Keynes, and Warrington. Rural areas, however, tend to have less favourable environments, including the Isle of Anglesey, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Lincolnshire, and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Outer Hebrides). This disparity is partly due to the inclusion of ‘gigabit’ broadband capability as a driver of innovation and growth.
Promising Prospects
Most local authorities score near the average on the index of promising prospects, indicating little difference between them. However, young people in some London boroughs, as well as Surrey, Hertfordshire, and Buckinghamshire, have the most promising prospects, with higher qualifications, earnings, and occupational levels by ages 25 to 44. Outside London and the home counties, Cheshire East and Warwickshire also offer promising prospects.
Less favourable prospects are noted for young people from parts of the North East, including Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, and Durham.
The State of the Nation 2024 report provides a detailed and nuanced understanding of social mobility in the UK, highlighting both progress and areas needing attention. It serves as a crucial tool for policymakers, educators, and community leaders aiming to foster a more equitable society.
