News and blogs

11 Sep 2024

Commission calls for targeted action to improve young people’s life chances in ‘left-behind’ places across the UK 

The government should adopt a place-based strategy to improve young people’s life chances in the areas with the lowest social mobility prospects in the UK, the Social Mobility Commission says

10 Sep 2024

Social Mobility Commission launches Childhood Origins of Social Mobility Report

The Childhood Origins of Social Mobility Report examines factors that influence social mobility in the UK, offering insights into the complex relationships between parental backgrounds, childhood experiences, and future life chances.

27 Aug 2024

Who are Britain’s left behind and what is to blame?

Anyone who has lived or worked in poor communities knows they are complex. When it comes to supporting these communities, solutions are often in short supply or ineffective. Here SMC Chair, Alun Francis shares his view with the FT on the current issues facing Britain's left behind communities.

15 Aug 2024

Social Mobility Talks: The Value of Qualifications 

In this latest episode of the “Social Mobility Talks” podcast, Rob Wilson, Deputy Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, discusses the value of qualifications with former Minister for Universities and Science, The Rt Hon. Lord Willetts FRS.

1 Aug 2024

SMC breaks new ground with launch of think piece series

The SMC has published three leading-edge think pieces, written by experts in their fields, to explore a range of economy-focused perspectives on social mobility.

22 May 2024

Developing Skills and Talent: Social Mobility and Post-16 Education

How can we improve outcomes for non-graduates entering the job market? And how can the careers system enable greater social mobility? These are just some of the questions answered at our expert-led panel.

14 May 2024

EYFS: Sure Start wasn’t perfect, but lessons can be learned

Despite new research highlighting the positive impact of Sure Start, there are reasons why the scheme shouldn’t simply be relaunched, says Alun Francis,  Chair of the Social Mobility Commission.

9 May 2024

Business in the Community - Opening Doors

Our Commissioner, Parminder Kohli, speaks at an event highlighting findings from a groundbreaking research project to identify how employers can best support jobseekers from low socio-economic backgrounds.

18 Apr 2024

Quarterly Commentary: April 2024

A summary of SMC's activities in Q1 written by Chair, Alun Francis.

18 Apr 2024

“How can better data drive social mobility?” - a recap of our event with DEMOS

We recently hosted the second in our Think Tank panel event series in collaboration with DEMOS focused on the role of data in the social mobility debate. The event attracted a diverse range of experts and stakeholders to Whitehall. 

11 Apr 2024

Social Mobility Talks: Regional Inequality in the UK

Resham Kotecha, Deputy Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, discusses regional inequalities, innovation, devolution, breakfast clubs and more with former Cabinet Minister Ed Balls.

26 Mar 2024

Social Mobility Talks episode 8: The importance of early years