Transparency data

Social Mobility Commission Quarterly Report: April - July 2021

Updated 3 December 2021

SMC’s policy priorities for government

The Commission framed its policy priorities for government in this period around levelling up and placing children and young people at the centre of COVID-19 recovery. In our State of the nation 2021: Social mobility and the pandemic report we framed these around seven key pillars:

• Geography and local power – A levelling up agenda that promotes equal outcomes for people living in under-invested places, and not just strategies that improve places generally.
• Poverty and living standards – The UK Government should make benefits more generous and account for different sized households in its calculations, starting by reducing child poverty by about a third.
• Early years – Higher pay and a better career structure for a workforce crucial to social mobility. Expansion of the 30 hours childcare offer regardless of education or training status.
• Education – A bigger focus on long-term deprivation, funding targeting, post qualification access to university and a student premium for those aged 16 to 19. We also support calls for education catch-up to be funded to the tune of £13.5-15bn.
• Apprenticeships and adult skills – Increase the share of apprenticeships from disadvantaged backgrounds and make sure more get on to the higher levels.
• Digital access – Access to affordable broadband and digital devices for all households, as well as the skills to thrive in a 21st century world.
• Work and career progression – Ensure that all employers measure the social diversity of their workforce and focus on career progression for those from lower socio-economic background, including those in low paid jobs.

Evidence

Translating evidence into action

The Commission published two reports this quarter. These were:

• State of the Nation 2021: Social mobility and the pandemic called for government to put children and young people centre-stage of its recovery plan, setting out seven pillars for recovery (see above). It highlighted that nearly one in three children in the UK now live in poverty, around 4.3 million - and that ending child poverty is one of the most impactful and influential things the UK Government can do to improve social mobility. For the first time it took an in-depth look at all four nations of the UK, and also built on previous SMC analysis of geographic inequalities between regions.
• Navigating the Labyrinth which analysed socio-economic diversity in the Civil Service and presented a complementary action plan. The civil service is a role model for fair recruitment and diversity initiatives, and its practices set a benchmark for all employers. But there is still more to be done to ensure it represents the country it serves. We are now following up with government departments to understand their intentions on adoption of the action plan, including through conversations with the Policy Profession Board, Places for Growth and the Cabinet Office Civil Service Inclusive Practice Team. We were pleased to see some of the themes of our report reflected in the Declaration on Government Reform but urge the government to ensure that such plans aim to increase socioeconomic diversity by design.
• Against the odds investigated the pupil premium and identified the schools where disadvantaged students make exceptional progress to learn lessons and make recommendations. This report was amplified by posts with key findings on Twitter and LinkedIn, and alerting specialist educational press outlets to its publication.

Upcoming evidence pipeline

In addition to the published research reports the Secretariat has continued developing the following reports for publication later in 2021:

• Physical health and social mobility, which explores the implications of poor health on social mobility and examines the impact of preventing and managing long-term chronic conditions.
• Mental health and social mobility - the first time a systematic review has been done on the topic of mental health and social mobility.

The Commission Secretariat has also been leading on the following projects:

• Social Mobility Measurement Framework which provides a set of indicators to promote and measure changes in social mobility over generations. We held a number of external stakeholder workshops to test and get feedback on the development of this framework so far. Currently, there are plans to publish an update on this work in the Autumn and we have reached out to the Levelling Up Unit to share thinking on how the framework could help government measure success.
• Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on young people across the UK: An evidence synthesis, In collaboration with the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Commission.
• Tax roundtables: As trailed in our ‘State of the nation’ report, we will convene tax experts in September to make recommendations to HM Treasury on how to ensure that, in ‘paying for the pandemic,’ any increases on taxation are levied on those most able to pay and do not hit the most disadvantaged the hardest.
• Spending review: We are also preparing a Spending Review bid via the Equality Hub in Cabinet Office. So far we expect our objectives to include our annual statutory report; digitisation of our data; a geographical inequalities project; development of a new measurement framework to provide early warning signs to the Government and other organisations where action is needed in relation to social mobility; and a review and report on education action zones – but of course we will need flexibility to respond to the priorities of the new incoming Chair.

Employers programme

Our Employers Programme has gone from strength to strength. It aims to harness the power of employers to increase career and progression opportunities for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, especially beyond London and the South East. It provides practical advice to employers across multiple sectors, including through our microsite which houses guidance, toolkits, resources and case studies and has seen the same amount of traffic in the first six months of 2021 as it did for the whole of 2020. We have increased our LinkedIn followers by 60% to nearly 8000 followers.

We held three employer events in Q2: a deep dive on our Navigating the labyrinth report and subsequent action plan; and two masterclasses on the topics of progression and Leadership and culture.

Registrations received:

• Navigating the labyrinth – public report launch event – 375 attendees
• Employers Masterclass: Progression with Cabinet Office and KPMG – 272 attendees
• Employers Masterclass: Leadership and culture with Superdrug – 193 attendees

Alongside events hosted by the Commission, Commissioners and representatives from our Employers’ programme presented at eight external events, reaching an audience of 1200 D&I leaders, HR managers, industry and government leaders across multiple sectors, including retail, Financial and Professional Services and public sector.

In the second half of 2021, we plan to launch our industry-specific toolkits for the Creative Industries and Retail Sector, along with guidance on making Apprenticeships more inclusive.

These follow the successful launches last year of our cross-industry toolkit, together with one for the Financial and Professional Services sector, both of which have been updated recently to reflect new national and industry benchmarking data.

The Financial and Professional toolkit is being utilised by the 80+ organisations involved in the City of London Corporation independent taskforce, commissioned by HMT and BEIS, intending to improve socio-economic diversity at senior levels in UK financial and professional services. These can be found on our microsite here: www.socialmobilityworks.org

As well as launching our upcoming toolkits, and continuing to host bespoke events to address the challenges employers face in addressing socio-economic inclusion, we will be publishing the following:

• A Maturity Assessment - to be published in August - allowing companies to assess where they are in their social mobility journey and how they can improve outreach, hiring practices, progression and organisational culture.
• Our ‘Let’s talk about class’ campaign will provide employers with a resource pack designed to promote open discussion on socio-economic background within the workforce, and to encourage the creation of working groups/opportunities for colleagues to share their experiences and discuss how barriers to employment/progression can be tackled. This will be available from mid-August as a tool for employers to use during their own National Inclusion Week activities (end-Sept).
• Joining forces with partners focused on Social Mobility (including the Social Mobility Foundation and Sutton Trust), we will launch an #AskTheQuestion campaign, to drive employers to collect SEB data of their workforce, and to highlight the one key question to ask (occupation of main earner in the family when the respondent was 14).

Geographical inequalities

We have started a programme of engagement with local leaders, and moving forward expect to support the new Chair to develop a ‘Geographical Inequalities programme’. We will work with local leaders to ensure that our findings and research inform the development of central, regional and local government policy and service design. We envisage working with local partners to understand the key barriers blocking social mobility in their areas and provide place-based solutions to local decision-makers including: mayors/councillors, regional employers and educational institutions.

Advocacy and engagements

Commissioners place a high emphasis on advocacy and working collaboratively with government and stakeholders on the levelling up agenda. There has been considerable engagement with government and employers on our Navigating the Labyrinth report; with Department for Education (DfE) on post-16 technical education and apprenticeships; and with Ofqual on education catch-up.

Interim Co-Chairs’ engagements

The Interim Co-chairs met Bernadette Kelly, Civil Service Social Mobility Champion, on 18 May to discuss Navigating the labyrinth; socio-economic background and career progression in the Civil Service report. Bernadette Kelly also joined the Co-Chairs along with other stakeholders in a panel discussion at the report’s launcht on 20 May.

The interim Co-Chairs met the Minister for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch, on 15 June to discuss the government’s response to the CRED report and the Commission’s proposal to contribute to the response.

The interim Co-Chairs undertook 31 engagements during this period. A full list of the interim Co-Chairs engagements is at Annex A.

Commissioners’ engagements

Key activities during this quarter included continued influence on education catch-up and 2021 exams; engagement with Minister Nick Gibb on our recommendation for a student premium for disadvantaged 16-19-year olds and engagement with Minister Gillian Keegan on socio-economic disparities and post-16 education.

Commissioners undertook 68 engagements during this period. A full list of Commissioners engagements is included at Annex B.

Secretariat activity

Key activities this quarter included speeches and engagement in the following events:

• Transforming Access and Student Outcomes (TASO) conference looking at evidence and best practice for widening participation and student access.
• A Government Events conference looking at how to support disadvantaged families and tackling inequalities.
• Boarding School Association (BSA) conference on the importance of socio economic diversity in the workplace.
• Whitehall and Industry Group on the long term impact of Covid on social mobility in the UK.
• Youth Services conference addressing social inequalities in youth services.

Media and campaigning

The Commission was mentioned around 1.3k times in media outlets between April and July – two thirds of which was galvanised by the publication of Navigating the Labyrinth and State of the Nation 2021.

The ‘Navigating the Labyrinth’ report and complementary action plan reached 96.5 million people through an astonishing 400 pieces of media coverage across broadcast, radio, national newspapers and online outlets. Much of this (circa 150) was driven by radio stations, especially the BBC, using the key findings as a top story on news bulletins throughout the day. The story was in the top 10 articles of the day on BBC Online, front page of The Times, and a key story on the Today Show, BBC Two Politics Live, BBC News at 6, and across many radio stations. The current Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid shared the BBC online piece on the report and remarked that the findings “ring true”.

The ‘State of the Nation 2021’ report received 383 pieces of media coverage, and reached 85.3 million people. Much of this was driven by online outlets and radio stations (200 and 120 respectively), with an article by Press Association and co-chair Sandra Wallace’s interview on BBC Radio 4 Today Show being widely replicated on BBC national and regional news bulletins throughout the day. Commissioners undertook 7 interviews on national broadcast and one in the national newspaper the Financial Times. The Commission also landed 2 comment pieces from Commissioners in iNews and Schools Week.

The report ‘Against the Odds’ was amplified by posts with key findings on Twitter and LinkedIn, an OpEd in Schools Week by Commissioner Sammy Wright, and alerting specialist educational press outlets to its publication.

The Commission shared its statement responding to the Education Select Committee’s report on White Working Class pupils.

Commissioner Sam Friedman was interviewed for an ELLE UK article on ‘disguising your privilege’ and Commissioner Sammy Wright joined Robert Halfon MP on Radio 4 Today Show to discuss Sir Kevan Collins’ resignation as catch-up advisor and the government’s funding announcement of £1.4 billion to schools to help students catch-up on learning after coronavirus.

The employers team were quoted in a news article by DI Leaders on why young people’s social mobility has never been more important, and what employers can do about it.

Digital media highlights

On Twitter between April and July the Commission received: 950k impressions; 104 profile visits;; more than 600 new followers which took us over 13.4k followers; 1.3k retweets; 1.9k likes; 770 mentions; 2.1k link clicks.

Notably, the Commission placed “Civil Service” in the top 5 trending items in the UK on Twitter on the day Navigating the labyrinth was launched.

During June and July, Instagram posts reached 1312 accounts; with more than 460 interactions and increased followers by around 5%.

In June the Commission launched a new campaign on Instagram called #WorksForMe which helps existing and new followers get the job they want. #WorksForMe provides weekly advice and inspiring stories from case studies which the Commission has sourced. During June, posts reached 1133 accounts; withmore than 420 interactions and increased followers by almost 4%.

The Commission also shared their first Instagram video with a Commissioner briefly outlining Navigating the Labyrinth, and their first Instagram Live with a conversation between two young Commissioners to explain key findings from ‘State of the nation’ for young people.

On LinkedIn, followers increased by 20% to nearly 8000.

Governance

The Commission held two board meetings during this quarter.

Oversight and Risk Board (ORB)

Our framework agreement was signed on 30 March 2021, which mandates the formation of our Oversight and Risk Board.

Our Oversight and Risk Board has been put in place to support and assure the Commission’s financial and operational management function and meets quarterly. It is chaired by one of the Interim Co-Chairs of the Commission, and the independent members consist of experts in the field of HR, finance and procurement and are non-executive members.

The Oversight and Risk Board met twice in Q2; in May to agree the terms of reference and our risk management in relation to HR, finance & procurement and in July to discuss governance and risk management, our working relationships with the Cabinet Office and our conflicts of interest process.

Commissioner appointments

The current Commission Board is made up of 12 Commissioners, including two Interim Co-Chairs and all their tenure is due to finish on 31 October 2021. The process of appointing a new chair is underway with an appointment potentially starting as early September and a new set of Commissioners due to start in November.

We are working to mitigate the risk of a knowledge gap with all the Commissioners ending at the same time, to ensure continuity within the Commission - along with working with the sponsorship team to look at the potential of staggering appointment terms in future to reduce this risk.

Annex A: Interim Co-Chair’s engagements

When	Activity	Organisation	Activity
Sandra Wallace and Steven Cooper
14 April	University of Wolverhampton Policy Briefing Session	University of Wolverhampton	Presentation and discussion around early years, Schools, Post-16 education and previous education priority areas in the UK
16 April	SMC Chairs meeting with Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion about Commission business
19 April	SMC Chairs meeting with all Secretariat staff	SMC	Update to staff on SMC ongoing projects and workplans
21 April	Commission meeting	SMC	Discussion on Commission business and forward planning
23 April	SMC Chairs meeting with Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion about Commission business
11 May	SMC Chairs meeting with Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion about Commission business
12 May	Commission briefing session on 30 years framework	SMC	Commissioner’s briefing session on 30 years framework
14 May	SMC Chairs meeting with Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion about Commission business
18 May	Bernadette Kelly, Perm Sec, DfT and Civil Service Social Mobility Champion	Department for Transport	Meeting to discuss Navigating the Labyrinth Report
18 May	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion on SMC business
19 May	SMC Commission meeting	SMC	Discussion on Commission business and forward work plan
19 May	Chairs meeting with all SMC Secretariat	SMC	Feedback from Commission meeting
20 May	Navigating the Labyrinth Report Launch closed session	SMC	Presentation and Q&A closed session on Navigating the Labyrinth report
21 May	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion on SMC business
28 May	SMC Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion on Commission business
1 June	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat	SMC	Discussion on SMC business
4 June	SMC Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC Secretariat	Discussion regarding Commission business/forward look
8 June	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat	SMC	Discussion on Commission business/forward work plan
11 June	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion on Commission business/forward work plan
15 June	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion on Commission business/forward work plan
15 June	Meeting with Minister for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch	Treasury	Discussion about CRED and Navigating the Labyrinth reports
22 June	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat	SMC	Discussion on SMC business
25 June	Chairs weekly meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion on SMC business/workplan
29 June	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat	SMC	Discussion on SMC business
6 July	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat	SMC	Discussion on SMC business
9 July	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion on SMC business/workplan
13 July	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat	SMC	Discussion on SMC business
16 July	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion on SMC business/workplan
21 July	SMC Commission meeting	SMC	Discussion on Commission business and forward work plan
27 July	Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT	SMC	Discussion on SMC business/workplan
Sandra Wallace
7 May	Building Societies Annual Conference	BSA	Panel member: Workplace diversity – irrelevant or integral to the future of work and business?
10 May	University of Wolverhampton	SMC	Keynote speaker: Business Leaders conference
24 May	SMC Oversight and Risk Board	SMC	Chair, inaugural meeting of the ORB
24 May	Chairs meeting with all SMC Secretariat staff	SMC	Feedback from ORB / SMC business discussion
27 May	Fallon O’Neill, Editor of Oxford Blue	Oxford University	Interview on diversity and inclusion in the legal profession
16 June	CIPD Festival of Work	CIPD	Plenary panel member: The Board Level Conversation: what will corporate governance look like in our new economic landscape?
23 June	Online Event - Wadham College, Oxford	Wadham College, Oxford	Online discussion about diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and role of a social mobility commissioner
12 July	SMC Oversight and Risk Board	SMC	Chair, meeting of the ORB to review the governance and risk management of SMC
13 July	The Law Society Seminar	The Law Society	Panel Member: Driving social mobility change in the profession
Steven Cooper
14 April	Gillian Keegan, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills	DfE	Discussion on post-16 technical education/apprenticeships and levelling up
12 July	Chairs meeting with all SMC Secretariat staff	SMC	Feedback from SMC business discussion

Annex B: Commissioner’s engagements

When	Activity
Saeed Atcha
14 April	Meeting with Amazon in the Community supporting their social mobility strategy
21 April	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
22 April	Meeting with NCFE re technical and vocational education
29 April	Meeting with Nick Chambers, Education and Employers, supporting their primary school outreach programme
11 May	Meeting with BDP supporting their social mobility strategy
9 June	Care Leavers Practitioner speech for National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum (NLCBF)
10 June	DfE speech on ‘Youth Without Limits’ event on centenary of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on extracurricular activities and social mobility
15 June	ITV Granada Diversity panel meeting
17 June	Speech to Manchester Metropolitan University on social mobility
22 June	Speech to young people at Sharples High School, Bolton on social mobility and career pathways
24 June	Education and Employers - Video interview on the importance of role models
28 June	Judging panel for UpReach Student Social Mobility Awards
9 July	Meeting with 1 Million Mentors to hear about their work in providing mentorship to underprivileged young people
14 July	Meeting with Shoosmiths to hear about their new Foundation funding social mobility initiatives
14 July	Roundtable on the lifelong health and well-being trajectories of people who have been in care
16 July	BBC News interview in Grimsby for SOTN launch
20 July	Media interviews for SOTN launch
21 July	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
23 July	Roundtable for Yorkshire Building Society: ‘Boosting the financial resilience of Generation Covid’
26 July	Instagram Live Interview on Social Mobility Commission Instagram page
Alistair Da Costa
14 April	Meeting with Gillian Keegan: Discussion on post-16 technical education/apprenticeships and levelling up
21 April	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
22 April	Meeting with NCFE re technical and vocational education
19 May	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
Pippa Dunn
14 April	Policy briefing session: Presentation by Uni of Wolverhampton, followed by discussion around early years, Schools, Post-16 education and previous education priority areas in the UK
21 April	Commission meeting: Commission business and forward look
Sam Friedman
16 April	Meeting with Secretariat re the Navigating the Labyrinth report
21 April	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
4 May	Presentation/Q&A session with Secretariat staff on the class pay gap research
7 May	Meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT re SMC’s response to CRED report
12 May	Commission briefing session on 30 years framework
18 May	Meeting with Bernadette Kelly, Permanent Secretary and Civil Service Social mobility champion to discuss Navigating the Labyrinth report
20 May	Presentation/panel and Q&A closed session on ‘Navigating the labyrinth’ report
21 July	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
27 July	Presentation on ‘Navigating the labyrinth’ to Department for Education Social Mobility Month
Harvey Matthewson
14 April	Presentation by University of Wolverhampton, followed by discussion around early years, Schools, Post-16 education and previous education priority areas in the UK
21 April	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
Jessica Oghenegweke
21 April	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
19 May	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
25 May	Apprenticeships that work for all workshop
8 June	Employers toolkit for apprenticeships and social mobility workshop
9 June	Employers toolkit for apprenticeships and social mobility workshop
26 July	Instagram Live Interview on Social Mobility Commission Instagram page
26 July	Instagram Live Interview on Social Mobility Commission Instagram page
Farrah Storr
9 April	Social Mobility Business Seminar with Making the Leap - Pre-Panel Briefing session
14 April	Presentation by Uni of Wolverhampton, followed by discussion around early years, Schools, Post-16 education and previous education priority areas in the UK
21 April	Keynote Speech to Social Mobility Business seminar
22 April	PPA Diversity Board meeting
5 May	Deep Dive session on early years and policy with Education Policy Institute
17 May	Meeting with Walpole (luxury body) to discuss social mobility in luxury space
7 June	Creative toolkit brainstorm meeting with SMC Secretariat
22 June	SMC X ELLE collaboration re June and July issues of ELLE
30 June	Judging for Social Mobility Student Awards
15 July	Creative toolkit brainstorm editing
21 July	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
Throughout July	ELLE Social mobility partnership
Jody Walker
21 April	Commission meeting – SMC business/stakeholder collaboration
21 July	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
Liz Williams
21 April	Commission meeting – SMC business/stakeholder collaboration
10 May	City of London Socio Economic taskforce meeting
11 June	Scouts social mobility speech
14 June	City of London taskforce meeting
17 June	Dods Diversity and Inclusion Event – Keynote speech on advancing social mobility at work
18 June	Digital Leaders Week: speech on digital inclusion and social mobility
21 July	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
Sammy Wright
1 April	Meeting with Julie McCullough, Director of Policy, ASCL re education catch-up
1 April	Meeting with SMC Secretariat on 30 years project - vision and measurement discussion
12 April	Meeting with Nick Gibb, Schools Minister, DfE – re Schools catch-up
14 April	Meeting with Amanda Seward, Head of Schools Partnerships, Teachfirst
16 April	Meeting with SMC Secretariat on Against the Odds report
21 April	Commission meeting - discussion on SMC business
21 April	Meeting with Bill Watkin, CEO, Sixth Form College Association re post 16-education
21 April	Recording for Schools and Academies Show - is closing the gap on social mobility through education achievable?
22 April	IOE debate on what if we really wanted to close the attainment gap
29 April	UCAS roundtable on post qualifications admissions/post qualifications offers
5 May	Meeting with Johnny Rich, Chief Executive, PUSH - outreach and young people
7 May	Meeting with SMC Secretariat SLT re SMC’s response to CRED report
19 May	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
26 May	Westminster Social Policy Forum: Speech/Q&A session on policy priorities for addressing child poverty after the 2020 targets
3 June	Meeting with SMC SLT on recommendations for State of the Nation report
7 June	Discussion with SMC SLT on education recommendations for SON
14 June	Meeting with Ofqual re exams 21
15 June	Meeting with Ann-Marie Canning, Chief Executive, Brilliant Club, re social mobility and student success
15 June	Meeting with Minister for Equalities, Kemi Bedenoch on CRED and Navigating the Labyrinth reports
17 June	Teachfirst school leaders forum
28 June	Keynote/discussion at Festival of Education: what can we do about child poverty?
21 July	Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning