To drive social mobility in the North focus needs to move away from elite universities, report finds
Social mobility is being held back by a lack of economic growth and innovation across the regions, a landmark report has found.
In its “Innovation Generation” strategy released today, the Social Mobility Commission outlines how the academic route out of poverty only benefits a small minority.
Instead, it says that a wide variety of education and training routes should be made available which reflect local needs.
“Until now there has been too much focus on the academic route of getting young disadvantaged people into top jobs via elite universities,” Alun Francis, the SMC chair, said.
“But this approach only favours the lucky few.
“We must realign social mobility policy so that it addresses a broader range of people in a wider range of places.
“What we have done here is rethink social mobility so that it is much more aligned with the real obstacles to opportunity experienced in this country.
“This means recognising the key role of economy and geography.”
It comes after the SMC’s State of the Nation 2024 report found there are huge geographical disparities in social mobility outcomes across the country.
In particular, it said post-industrial, coastal and rural areas, including Barnsley and Rochdale, lag far behind London and the South East.
Instead, the Government needs to support an “innovative” economic strategy which creates fresh job opportunities, the SMC said.
The report found that productivity must be moved away from London and the South East, where the financial and professional service sectors are heavily concentrated.
This can be helped by supporting entrepreneurs and innovators in the regions, it said.
The SMC is setting up a new expert group to look at how best to stimulate an innovative economy and overcome the lack of investment in communities and regions like Yorkshire and the Humber.
“The Yorkshire counties are home to some fantastic examples of enterprise and entrepreneurship,” said Rob Wilson, deputy chair.
“But our own research has shown that some parts of Yorkshire such as Barnsley, experience more challenging conditions for growth and innovation.
"The SMC has been highlighting geographical disparities, and calling for place-based action for the last two years, so the Government's recent attention to these issues is welcome.
“However, removing the barriers to opportunity will take time and investment, requiring action on multiple fronts."
The Chancellor told business and policy leaders at The Yorkshire Post’s Great Northern Conference on Tuesday that devolving powers around innovation funding would help drive investment outside of London.
UK Research and Innovation and Innovate UK, which provide grants to businesses and scientific projects, will collaborate directly with the region’s metro mayors.
In particular, the Chancellor said there would be a focus on university spinout companies - with clusters in Leeds and Sheffield.
Ms Reeves told the conference: “I think that's really exciting, because we've got fantastic universities, great entrepreneurs in our Northern cities.
“If you look at the money that comes from venture capital, private equity, it doesn't flow enough to entrepreneurs outside of London and the South East.
"There are some really great initiatives to try and change that, Northern Gritstone for example, but these strategic partnerships between our mayors and these innovation bodies is a really important vehicle for bringing more research and innovation to all regions of the UK."
“I absolutely accept the argument that growth on its own is not enough,” she said.
“It's got to be felt by people in all communities in the UK.
“It's no good having growth that lifts living standards in one part of the country, often London and the South East, or people working in a small number of sectors of the economy, that growth has got to be widely shared and widely felt.”