Social mobility is to be put at the heart of the government’s
levelling up agenda with new structures to ensure that policies
are delivered to help the most disadvantaged communities.
The Social Mobility Commission is to be brought more closely into
the centre of Whitehall to help inform and advise on the new,
changing agenda in the light of the pandemic and our exit from
the European Union.
The commission, which will continue as an independent arms-length
body, is to join the Cabinet Office to advise , the
Minister for Women and Equalities.
It will also work closely with other equality bodies covering
race, disability and gender.
It will continue to help inform policies to support regions most
affected by the pandemic including areas in the north east and
north west, but also other social mobility coldspots in areas in
the south.
Many of these were recently identified in our recent report, the
Long Shadow of
Deprivation.
The commission, co-chaired by Steven Cooper and Sandra Wallace,
which currently sits within the Department for Education has long
argued that it should have a more prominent place at the heart of
Whitehall as much of its work cuts across several departments.
In its report earlier this year – Monitoring Social
Mobility: 2013 to 2020 - the commission also pressed for a
dedicated policy unit at the centre, based in the Cabinet Office
or Downing Street.
It argued that there needed to be much more coordination across
Whitehall on tackling social inequality and a new unit to help
deliver policy.
The commission will work with policy officials in the Cabinet
Office while the unit is being set up to help drive through
policy recommendations and make action happen on the ground.
Steven Cooper and Sandra Wallace, co-chairs of the Social
Mobility Commission said: “We are delighted that the prime
minister has backed our proposal for a greater focus on social
mobility at the heart of Whitehall.
“We look forward to helping drive the levelling up agenda in the
regions whilst continuing our important research work and
delivery programmes with key partners such as major employers. We
value our independence and will continue to be a big voice
advocating for progress and change.”
The commission is an advisory non-departmental public body
established under the Life Chances Act 2010. It has a duty to
assess progress on improving social mobility, provide published
advice to ministers, and carry out social mobility advocacy.
