North still held back by 'stark' divisions, report says, with ex-mining and rural areas worst affected

The state of the nation report highlighted what it described as post-industrial areas in Yorkshire, including Hull, Barnsley, and Wakefield, as well as coastal and rural areas, as being some of the worst for young people’s social mobility.

The research, by the Social Mobility Commission, concluded that young people growing up in these areas tend to end up with lower qualifications and lower pay.

They are more likely to end up in what it described as working-class jobs than young people from the same socio-economic background who grew up in parts of the country with better social mobility, the report said.

Social mobility is defined by the commission as the link between a person’s occupation or income and that of their parents, moving up or down through the generations.

Boris Johnson was elected in 2019 on a pledge of levelling up the country, with a particular focus on Yorkshire and the North.

Former nurse Val Ely now helps young people with their GCSE resits at a further education college in Castleford.

She said: “Many young people in the area struggle to get work. 

“There’s a lot of zero hours contract agency work in the warehouses, people work for a few weeks and then the contracts end, often very abruptly and it’s very demoralising - it’s not easy for young people here.” 

She added: “When you talk about poverty, of course some people will suffer from financial hardship, but there is also poverty of experience and expectation, and that can be intergenerational. 

“It’s so much more than just money, it’s about how people feel about themselves and how they believe they can change.”

The report said good transport links to big cities appear to be key to better social mobility, with areas around Manchester and Warwickshire, within commuting distance of Birmingham, having better opportunities for young people.

While much of Yorkshire has connectivity issues, with poor services across the Pennines and Leeds still waiting for a long-promised mass transit system.

Andrew McPhillips, chief economist of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership said: “It is concerning Barnsley, Hull, North East Lincolnshire and Wakefield district having low opportunities – all post-industrial towns and former mining areas in parts.”

He highlighted the low percentage of children in West Yorkshire reaching a “good level of development” by the age of five, while in South Yorkshire those in their late 20s are some of the most likely to be economically inactive in the county.

“There are also some areas where the results are more positive - such as North Yorkshire offers a high level of professional job opportunities for young people,” he said.

“The issues need locally tailored solutions led by local government and Mayoral combined authorities.

“We support Alun Francis as Chair of the Commission and back him in making the case to government and private sector for concerted action, avoiding the tokenistic approach of much of the previous government’s Levelling Up interventions.”

While Jade Botterill, Labour’s new MP for Ossett and Denby Dale, told the Yorkshire Post: "Having grown up in a rural town, I know all too well that opportunities are few and far between.

“This report confirms that working class kids in our towns and villages still face this uphill battle. For me, reducing this inequality of opportunity is personal.

“I will work tirelessly with the Government to bring opportunities back to former mining and industrial communities so that young people don’t feel like they have to get out to get ahead.”

Mr Francis, said there needs to be a focus on helping young people stuck in “left-behind places” with few opportunities.

In the foreword to the report, he said: “There are now several challenges in the UK which frame our social mobility problem, one of which includes insufficient attention to regional disparities and ‘left behind’ people and places. This is critical and needs urgent attention.”

Of the solutions, he said: “There is no one-size-fits-all approach to improving opportunities, as each place has its own particular challenges.

“A common theme is economic opportunity and the quality of jobs across the country, but there are also deeply entrenched issues around educational underperformance among families and communities which are more acute in some places than others.”

The commission has urged ministers to use approaches which are specific to a local area and its needs.