The Equality Trust has responded to today’s report by the Social Mobility Comission on two decades of efforts to improve social mobility. The report shows that little progress has been made on social mobility over this time, and concludes that radical reform is needed to repair social divisions in Britain. Dr. Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director of The Equality Trust, said:
“For too many people in the UK, being born into poverty still means dying in poverty. Twenty years of failed policy has condemned generations to a half-life of narrowed horizons, perpetual anxiety, and the knowledge that the next rung above them is beyond their reach regardless of their efforts.
“With child poverty set to rise, and inequality widen, it’s little wonder this report warns of decades of division in education and employment without substantial changes. We cannot wait 40 years for the attainment gap between poor 5 year olds and their better off counterparts to narrow.
“Its encouraging to see recommendations for future Budgets to outline how public spending addresses wealth inequality, but this must go further. Successive governments have failed to see what’s blindingly obvious to most – that the huge inequalities in wealth, income and power we see today become the vast inequality of opportunity experienced by future generations. This is why The Equality Trust is calling on the government to commit to a cross-governmental inequality reduction strategy. When one parent can draw on almost limitless resources to help their child, and another is struggling to put food on the table, it’s pretty obvious that the playing field is anything but level.”
The Equality Trust is a registered charity that works to improve the quality of life in the UK by reducing economic inequality. UK income inequality is among the highest in the developed world and evidence shows that this results in poorer mental and physical health, higher violent crime, poorer educational outcomes and lower levels of trust. Inequality affects us all. For further comments or to arrange an interview, contact info@equalitytrust.org.uk