16/06/2025
As a company that supports social mobility through business, we thought it prudent to highlight some news stories from the last week or so that also look to address social imbalance in various circumstances.
Unfortunately most of these require subscriptions, unless you have a way around paywalls, but the cost is pretty low.
๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ
Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled the Lifting Lives programme โ a sweeping agenda to enhance social mobility. Key commitments include scrapping the two-child benefit cap, re-establishing 1,400 Sure Start centres, providing AI-powered tutors and guaranteed postโ18 training or education. The plan also includes youth clubs and mental-health services in schools โ designed to boost prospects for disadvantaged young people by 2029
Read article here: https://www.ft.com/content/9cd0fcaa-fbb4-43fc-82b2-099fabe10b7b
๐จ๐ช๐๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐
๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐โ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ด๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ
A report by Demos and Coโop reveals that stagnant social mobility costs the UK around ยฃ19 billion annually in GDP, touching business profits and tax income. While 76% of business leaders agree that greater mobility brings gains, only 64% have taken concrete steps. Companies like Sky, BP, and PwC are beginning initiatives (e.g., leadership mentoring, outreach) to close the gap
Read article here: https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/social-mobilitys-economic-benefits-are-too-great-to-ignore-29pk98p6l
๐จ๐ช๐๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐
๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a major expansion of free school meals in her 2025 Spending Review: half a million more children will qualify, eliminating income thresholds for Universal Credit families. This uplift could lift around 100,000 children out of poverty and reduce family financial pressure by ~ยฃ500/year โ essential for improving nutrition, attendance, and long-term life chances
Read article here: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/money/14921897/free-school-meals-confirmed/
๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป โ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ-๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑโ ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐
The SMF warned that elite universities often meet wideningโaccess targets by enrolling disadvantaged students from London, while neglecting local underprivileged applicants. They call for performance-based funding to encourage recruitment from nearby regions, tracking socioeconomic diversity among staff, and establishing regional social mobility commissioners
Read article here: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/universities-ignoring-local-deprived-applicants-in-favour-of-londoners-2vr2lhqnp
๐จ๐ช๐๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐
The Institute for Public Policy Research, alongside Changing Realities, warned that Labour will struggle to reduce child poverty without abolishing benefit caps and the two-child rule โ measures that would cost roughly ยฃ3 billion. They argue that political will is essential to match policy ambition with effective delivery in the upcoming Spending Review
Read article here: https://www.ft.com/content/13136ff5-3ed8-4abd-be86-0b34fbe5508c
๐จ๐ช๐๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐
