Futures Forum: Devolution and social mobility > "Rural areas such as Devon, Kent, Cumbria and Durham, as well as coastal towns like Dorset and Norfolk, are all in the bottom 10 on the social mobility index."
The think tank Localis has been researching into this:
'All the country needs the same levers to support social mobility' | Opinion | Local Government Chronicle
And the County All-Party Parliamentary Group has just produced a report:
“Unfair” council funding holding back social mobility in rural counties, MPs warn
October 31, 2018
An inquiry by a cross-party group of MPs has found that the least socially mobile areas in England are counties, and those areas are held back by an ‘outdated’ and ‘inequitable’ method of funding councils and the false perception they are affluent
The report outlines that councils in London receive £482 per head, whilst metropolitan boroughs and cities receive £351 per head, compared to £182 per person for public services in county areas.
At the same time, recent research by CCN has shown that councils face a £3.2bn funding gap between 2018-20, with these councils planning a further £1bn of worth of funding reductions next year to balance their books.
Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis, added: “Our research for the commission shows young people in London are pulling away from the rest of the country in opportunity and educational outcomes as soon as they enter school.
“Young people growing up in coastal and rural areas of England are then further constrained by poor skills infrastructure and in many cases weak prospects for finding good local jobs that pay decent wages.
“Devolution of the adult skills budgets to all strategic authorities, and a more ambitious reconfiguration of local political economies represent two main opportunities for boosting social mobility and delivering the promise of an inclusive growth that can help bridge today’s unacceptably wide urban-rural divide.”
“Unfair” council funding holding back social mobility in rural counties, MPs warn
The Herald takes up the story:
Report says Devon is one of the least socially mobile counties in the UK
07 November 2018
Matt Smart
Devon is one of the least socially mobile counties in the United Kingdom according to an inquiry by a cross-party group of MPs.
The report, Social Mobility in Counties, by the County All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and County Councils Network (CCN) says funding of councils including Devon is embedding a cycle of low social mobility.
MPs say the perception of counties as affluent areas has masked ‘deep-seated socio-economic challenges and deprivation’ in shire counties such as Devon.
The report says shire counties receive £182 in funding per head compared to £482 in London and puts Devon in the bottom 10 socially mobile areas.
The social mobility index was compiled by think-tank Localis.
Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis, said: “Our research for the commission shows young people in London are pulling away from the rest of the country in opportunity and educational outcomes as soon as they enter school.
“Young people growing up in coastal and rural areas of England are then further constrained by poor skills infrastructure and in many cases weak prospects for finding good local jobs that pay decent wages.”
MPs are calling for calling on the government to break outdated perceptions of shire counties as places with little social challenges and deliver a fairer share of funding so they can invest in raising social mobility, as well as new powers in skills and transport.
Peter Aldous MP, chairman of the County APPG, said: “For a long time now, the perception that counties are affluent and wealthy has meant they have been overlooked in terms of directing resource and policy towards improving social mobility.
“An outdated and inequitable method of funding local authorities has disproportionally channelled funding towards London and the major cities; holding back social mobility in county areas, and embedding a cycle of low life chances for residents. This is unfair.
“If we are to bridge rural vs urban divide in social mobility, then government needs to ensure that counties have fair and sustainable funding in future, backed by the powers to genuinely make a difference.”
Devon one of the least socially mobile counties in the UK according to new report | Honiton, Axminster and Seaton news - Midweek Herald
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The Herald takes up the story:
Report says Devon is one of the least socially mobile counties in the UK
07 November 2018
Matt Smart
Devon is one of the least socially mobile counties in the United Kingdom according to an inquiry by a cross-party group of MPs.
The report, Social Mobility in Counties, by the County All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and County Councils Network (CCN) says funding of councils including Devon is embedding a cycle of low social mobility.
MPs say the perception of counties as affluent areas has masked ‘deep-seated socio-economic challenges and deprivation’ in shire counties such as Devon.
The report says shire counties receive £182 in funding per head compared to £482 in London and puts Devon in the bottom 10 socially mobile areas.
The social mobility index was compiled by think-tank Localis.
Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis, said: “Our research for the commission shows young people in London are pulling away from the rest of the country in opportunity and educational outcomes as soon as they enter school.
“Young people growing up in coastal and rural areas of England are then further constrained by poor skills infrastructure and in many cases weak prospects for finding good local jobs that pay decent wages.”
MPs are calling for calling on the government to break outdated perceptions of shire counties as places with little social challenges and deliver a fairer share of funding so they can invest in raising social mobility, as well as new powers in skills and transport.
Peter Aldous MP, chairman of the County APPG, said: “For a long time now, the perception that counties are affluent and wealthy has meant they have been overlooked in terms of directing resource and policy towards improving social mobility.
“An outdated and inequitable method of funding local authorities has disproportionally channelled funding towards London and the major cities; holding back social mobility in county areas, and embedding a cycle of low life chances for residents. This is unfair.
“If we are to bridge rural vs urban divide in social mobility, then government needs to ensure that counties have fair and sustainable funding in future, backed by the powers to genuinely make a difference.”
Devon one of the least socially mobile counties in the UK according to new report | Honiton, Axminster and Seaton news - Midweek Herald
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