Commenting on the release of the Social Mobility Commission’s State of the Nation Report, Dr Wanda Wyporska, Executive Director of The Equality Trust said:

“We welcome the report, which provides even more evidence of the stark divide between the rich and the poor and we support calls for a more redistributive approach. It is a national disgrace that in affluent areas, poor people are still denied access to decent jobs with decent pay, good education and efficient transport.

The Commission says there is a lack of evidence-based strategies and inconsistency of practice when it comes to social mobility, but this cannot be divorced from the wider problem of vast inequality in the UK. If the Commission wants to tackle entrenched inequality, and to curb the ‘self-reinforcing spiral of ever growing division’, then we need the Government to implement a cross-departmental inequality reduction strategy and to bring into force the Socio-Economic Duty (Section 1 of The Equality Act), which would require public bodies, such as local councils, to take inequality into account when forming policies. While education can play an important part in reducing inequality, we also need better regional labour markets, access to decent housing and widespread take-up of the Living Wage. Inequality is not inevitable and this report demonstrates, once again, that it is the poor who are paying the price.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

The Equality Trust is a registered charity that works to improve the quality of life in the UK by reducing economic and social 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