The Social Mobility Commission has published a new report, which offers an ambitious strategy to boost growth and investment in the UK’s most disadvantaged regions.
The report, from the Commission’s Economic Growth and Investment Group aims to encourage regional growth, entrepreneurship, and investment in areas of economic disadvantage outside London and the south east.
The Commission is urging the government to take forward recommendations across three key areas: investment, entrepreneurship, and skills.
Investment recommendations
The report recommends that the Government should support the creation of ‘Opportunity Zones’ and provide Capital Gains Tax incentives when people invest in the poorest parts of the UK.
It also calls for pension funds to be required to invest more in UK growth, and for a new Social Mobility and Dynamism Index to track regional progress and guide policy.
Elsewhere, it proposes that every region in the UK should have a Strategic Growth Plan that is long-term, business-led, locally coordinated and nationally backed.
Entrepreneurship recommendations
The Commission recommends expanding enterprise education in schools, colleges and Job Centre Plus offices.
It calls for the New Enterprise Allowance to be revived, with a £3,000 trading allowance and mentoring for entrepreneurs on Universal Credit.
Local authorities should also support start-up hubs and co-working spaces, especially in disadvantaged areas.
Skills recommendations
The report says apprenticeships must be reformed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and offer more flexibility.
It recommends scaling mentoring and job coaching, especially for young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Adults in disadvantaged areas should receive portable skills accounts worth £3,000 to invest in lifelong learning.
Rob Wilson, Deputy Chair of the Social Mobility Commission and Chair of the Commission’s Economic Growth and Investment Group, said:
“Successive UK governments have tried and largely failed to improve economic growth in ‘left behind’ regions in the UK. Many of these policies have been frustratingly fragmented and limited. With growing pressure on public funding, it’s time for a radical new approach that encourages private investment in the areas that need it most.
“This report offers a bold new vision for social mobility, one which harnesses the power of regional leadership, devolution, and private investment to bring real change to some of the UK’s poorest communities. Our proposal for Opportunity Zones represents exactly the kind of place-based approach we need to tackle the extreme regional disparities that exist in the UK today.”