Transparency data

Social Mobility Commission Quarterly Report: January - March 2021

Updated 3 December 2021

30 April 2021

Summary

In this quarter we planned for our machinery of government (MOG) move from the Department for Education to Cabinet Office; completed our recruitment to fill vacant roles; continued our engagement with government on education catch-up and 2021 exams; prepared our statutory report; released three reports and offered three masterclasses to employers. Our Chairs undertook 51 engagements and our Commissioners 129 in this quarter.

Statutory report

Publication of the Commission’s ‘State of the nation’ report which assesses progress in improving social mobility in the UK has been delayed due to the pandemic, resource shortages and our preparation for the Commission’s move to Cabinet Office. The report will now be published before summer recess. This year’s report will monitor social mobility in each of the four nations and will assess the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on social mobility across the union. It is the first Commission report that monitors Northern Ireland, which is possible with the Stormont Assembly reformed.

Evidence and policy agenda

Translating evidence into action

We published three reports this quarter. These were:

Upcoming evidence pipeline

In addition to our statutory report, in Q1 the Secretariat has been leading work on several ambitious projects:

  • New proposals on data for social mobility, to help government to better measure and report on socio-economic disadvantage and assess social background in policy making
  • An enhanced focus on place-based policy to develop an outcomes measurement framework of policy positions for levelling up and shining a light on best practice
  • A legislative assessment tool to assess the impact of new legislation on social mobility, to sit alongside existing assessments for financial sustainability, equalities and environmental impact

Alongside these new projects we have several reports from our existing research pipeline which will be developed throughout 2021. These include:

  • ‘Navigating the labyrinth’, which looks at progression by socio-economic background in the Civil Service and sets out an action plan for change (due out 20 May 2021)
  • ‘Against the odds’, which highlights how schools can help disadvantaged students progress at GCSE
  • ‘Behavioural insights in careers advice’, which uses ‘nudge’ techniques to try to improve disadvantaged pupils engagement with online careers advice platforms
  • ‘Balanced schools’, which looks at the role of socio-economic diversity in schools, and the impacts on attainment gaps and school admissions policy
  • ‘Poor health and social mobility’, which looks at the relationships between poor health and social mobility
  • ‘Mental health and social mobility’, which looks at the relationship between mental health conditions and social mobility
  • ‘A 30 years strategy for change’, which is producing a long term strategy for change
  • ‘The impacts of COVID-19 on young people in the UK’, in collaboration with the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Commission

Employers’ resources to help employers improve socio-economic diversity and inclusion with the following focuses:

  • Apprenticeship toolkit for employers
  • A beginners’ guide to socio-economic diversity and inclusion
  • Creative industries toolkit
  • Retail toolkit
  • Public sector toolkit
  • Cross-cutting guide for D&I, in partnership with the CIPD
  • An internal communications campaign kit, for HR leaders to start conversations about class in their workplaces
  • A maturity assessment, the outcome of ‘nudge’ research, to help employers target training and progression to low skilled workers

Employers’ programme

Our employers’ programme continues to gain momentum and support socio-economic diversity and inclusion. Following the successful launch of our financial and professional services toolkit in Q4 2020, our aim for our employers’ events in Q1 was to try and drive new audiences to our masterclass events from under-represented industries, utilising our LinkedIn channels and partner organisations. We also supported our Chair, Sandra Wallace, in her role as Chair of the City of London/BEIS/HMT taskforce on socio-economic diversity in the financial industry.

We held three employers events in Q1. All three events exceeded our expectations on registrants, and we had to source more facilitators for the breakout sessions to enable us to increase the numbers. Registrations received:

  • How to drive socio-economic diversity through apprenticeships – 272
  • Employers Masterclass: Outreach – 323
  • Employers Masterclass: Data – 472

The outreach event applied evidence from our report, ‘The road not taken: drivers of course selection’ and gave employers clear steers on how to apply smart outreach strategies to target disadvantage young people who are making career choice decisions. This included priority groups our research identified, such as white, working-class women and Black Caribbean men and women, who are most at risk at ‘under-matching’ their ability with the courses they select.

Advocacy and engagement

Commissioners are continuing to place a strong emphasis on advocacy and working collaboratively with government and stakeholders on the levelling up agenda. They have had a lot of engagement with DfE and Ofqual on education catch-up and continue to push for increased funding for the most disadvantaged 16-19 years old, a recommendation in our Monitoring social mobility 2013-2020 report.

Interim Co-Chairs’ engagements

The interim Co-Chairs hosted an Ambassadors event on 3 February where we launched our ‘Annual review and business plan’ for 2020 that set out our future priorities. At the same time, we launched our ‘Social mobility barometer 2019-20’ report, a yearly poll looking at the public’s attitude to social mobility.

The interim Co-Chairs met Liz Truss, Minister for Women and Equalities on 3 March 2021 for an introductory meeting and a discussion on her vision for tackling inequalities across the UK.

The interim co-chairs also met Kemi Badenoch, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, on 15 March 2021 to discuss how the Commission could help to support her work.

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

Commissioner engagements

Key activities during this quarter included continued engagement with government and Ofqual on education catch-up; engagement with media and broadcast on 20-21 exam plans and collaborative activities with stakeholders to tackle inequality across the UK.

Commissioners undertook 129 engagements during this period. A full list of Commissioners engagements is included at Annex B.

Secretariat activities

The Secretariat hosted four policy briefing sessions for Commissioners and the wider team on topical social mobility issues. These covered race and ethnicity; housing; child poverty and tax; the digital divide and a presentation from the Wealth Tax Commission on their proposals for a UK wealth tax.

In Q1 the secretariat worked to create a Social Mobility Working Group. We are pleased to offer a collaborative space to our social mobility partners and key stakeholders to align agendas and share ideas, in order to increase our collective impact in the social mobility space. The founding members of the group are:

  • Social Mobility Commission (SMC)
  • Social Mobility Foundation (SMF)
  • The Social Mobility Pledge
  • The Sutton Trust

Media and campaigning

The Commission shared four responses to the government’s plan for 2021 exams and catch-up this quarter. Commissioner Sammy Wright appeared on the country’s leading radio stations – Radio 4 Today Show, BBC 5 Live and LBC News – multiple times discussing school closures and openings, lost learning due to coronavirus, and recommendations for supporting the most disadvantaged learners.

The Commission also responded to The Budget 2021, commenting that it rightly focused on coronavirus relief to ensure that social mobility does not get worse, but resources could have been better targeted to support the most disadvantaged.

Another highlight was co-chair Sandra Wallace providing commentary outlining how apprenticeships boost social mobility and sharing her recommendations for employers in the New Statesman, as part of National Apprenticeship Week.

Digital media highlights

On Twitter this quarter, the Commission received: 51.9K profile visits; almost 500 new followers which took us to 12.8k followers; 906 retweets; 1.7K likes; 412 mentions; 1.1K link clicks; and 712K impressions.

On Instagram @socialmobilitystories, the Commission surpassed the one thousand follower mark thanks to our #CovidGeneration series which highlights disadvantaged people’s experiences of coronavirus and lockdown.

On LinkedIn, we received: 1,949 new followers (bringing us to a total of 6,436) and an engagement rate of 5.93%, which is higher than most of our similar-focused social mobility charities (whose engagement sits around 3-4%).

On the employers’ microsite this quarter, we received: 4,569 users (of which 82% were new users) and 14,316 page views.

The Commission is also delighted to have sponsored and collaborated with Over the Bridge podcast on a four-part social mobility series. The team of black Cambridge graduates discussed social mobility with Fatima Ahamed, Employer Engagement Manager at Aston University; Naomi Kellman, the founder of Target Oxbridge which helps Black African and Caribbean students gain places at University of Cambridge and Oxford; and the ‘Poor Banker’, a popular blogger about his journey from council housing and state school in South London to a successful career in banking.

On social media, we shared multiple videos from #IndustryVoices – a series where individuals who have experienced discrimination and challenges in the screen industries due to their socio-economic background relayed their stories.

Governance

The Commission held three board meetings during this quarter.

Framework agreement

On 30 March 2021, DfE signed our framework agreement, the document setting out our relationship with the department. Cabinet Office has agreed we can use this DfE agreement during a 12-month period before we must bring it into compliance with Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions. This framework agreement will initiate the formation of the Oversight and Risk Board which will meet in Quarter 2 and will support the Commission’s financial and operational management functions.

Resourcing

Resourcing in the Social Mobility Commission has improved. In preparation for the Machinery of Government move to the Cabinet Office, we received permission to use our programme budget to recruit 6 key appointments within the team. Simultaneously we were able to backfill 2 positions to give much needed capacity within the policy, research and leadership team.

Our admin headcount is 7.9 and 6 posts using the programme budget. These appointments have meant we were able to reduce the number of contractor roles to key positions within the team, providing support in research, communications and operations and allowing the Team the flexibility to respond to Commissioner priorities. This also achieved better value for money for the Commission.

Annex A: Interim Co-Chair’s Engagements

Sandra Wallace and Steven Cooper

When Who Organisation Activity
12 January DLA Social Mobility Event – Pre-meet DLA Piper Driving the social mobility agenda - speech on social mobility
14 January SMC and Metro Dynamics SMC Annual report chapter discussion
15 January Eleanor Wolfson, DWP NED Department for Work and Pensions Policy formation discussion
20 January Commission meeting SMC Discussion on Commission business and forward planning
28 January Scottish Poverty and Inequality Commission Scottish Poverty and Inequality Commission/SMC Introductory meeting and discussion on working together on a joint Covid-19 project
3 February SMC Ambassadors meeting SMC Discussion with Ambassadors about SMC’s work and future work plans following the launch of SMC’s annual review and business plan report.
4 February Commission briefing session SMC Commissioner’s policy briefing session with Professor Abigail McKnight on child poverty and tax
9 February SMC Chairs meeting with Secretariat SMC Discussion on Commission business
12 February Marcus Bell, Cabinet Office Cabinet Office Discussion about new sponsorship arrangements
16 February Chairs weekly meeting with SMC Secretariat director and deputy head SMC Discussion on SMC business
16 February Eleanor Wolfson, DWP NED Department for Work and Pensions Policy formation discussion
23 February Chairs weekly meeting with SMC Secretariat SMC Discussion on Commission business
24 February Commission meeting SMC Discussion on Commission business and stakeholder presentation on 30 years framework followed by Q&A
24 February Chairs meeting with SMC Secretariat SMC Introductory meeting with the wider Secretariat team and Q&A
2 March SMC Chairs meeting with Secretariat SMC Discussion on Commission business
3 March Liz Truss, Minister for Women and Equalities Government Equalities Office Introductory meeting and discussion working together to support the minister’s levelling up agenda
9 March SMC Chairs meeting with Secretariat SMC Secretariat Discussion regarding Commission business
12 March Government Equalities Office (GEO) and DfE sponsorship team GEO /DfE Discussion re sponsorship following SMC’s MOG move to Cabinet Office
15 March Kemi Badenoch, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Equalities) H M Treasury Introductory meeting and discussion on SMC business
15 March Chairs meeting with SMC director and deputy director SMC Follow-up on discussion with Kemi Badenoch
16 March Commission meeting SMC Discussion on Commission business and forward look
19 March Chairs weekly meeting with director and deputy head, SMC Secretariat SMC Discussion on SMC business
23 March Chairs weekly meeting with SMC Secretariat SMC Discussion on SMC business and workplan
24 March Wealth Tax Commissioners Wealth Tax Commission Policy briefing session: Presentation and Q&A on wealth tax proposals
26 March Chairs weekly meeting with Director and deputy of SMC Secretariat SMC Discussion on SMC business
30 March Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) CRED Pre-briefing meeting on report

Sandra Wallace

When Who Organisation Activity
12 January DLA Social Mobility Event – Pre-meet DLA Piper Driving the social mobility agenda planning session
14 January SMC and Metro Dynamics SMC Annual report chapter discussion
18 January Kay Forsythe, Social Mobility Taskforce Deloitte Advancing Social mobility discussion
19 January Deloitte Social Mobility Strategy Group Deloitte Advancing social mobility discussion
22 January DLA Event DLA Piper Driving the social mobility agenda speech
25 January Kay Forsythe, Deloitte Deloitte Monthly conference call re social mobility taskforce business
2 February Commission Policy Briefing Session SMC Presentation and Q&A session by Professor Abigail McKnight on housing and race/ethnicity
17 February University of Wolverhampton University of Wolverhampton Strategic Plan/Fundraising and Engagement briefing session
22 February SMC Secretariat recruitment moderation panel SMC Recruitment panel moderation session
22 February Kay Forsythe, Deloitte Deloitte Monthly discussion on social mobility taskforce business
8 March Paul Johnson, Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) IFS Working collaboratively discussion
8 March Kay Forsythe and Jon Whitehouse Deloitte Introductory telephone meeting on Social Mobility Taskforce
8 March Kay Forsythe and Nicholas Miller SMC Recruitment panel member
10 March Kay Forsythe and Stephanie Boyce Deloitte Introductory meeting on Social Mobility Taskforce
10 March Kay Forsythe and Richard Iferenta Deloitte Introductory meeting one Social Mobility Taskforce
11 March Kay Forsythe and Chris Cummings Deloitte Introductory meeting on Social Mobility Taskforce
11 March Kay Forsythe and Emma Reynolds Deloitte Introductory meeting on Social Mobility Taskforce
11 March Kay Forsythe and Yvonne Braun Deloitte Introductory meeting on Social Mobility Taskforce
12 March SMC Secretariat Recruitment panel SMC Recruitment panel member
16 March Wolverhampton University Wolverhampton Strategic Plan briefing event

Steven Cooper

When Who Organisation Activity
28 January The National Apprenticeships Conference 2021 Government Events Speech on fulfilling potential: Apprenticeships and Social Mobility
9 February Debbie Weekes-Bernard, Deputy Mayor, GLA Greater London Authority Introductory and relationship building discussion
22 February Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) podcast Podcast - In conversation with Neil Carberry, CEO Podcast on ‘It’s time to step up your social mobility strategy’
25 February Helen Milner, CEO, Good Things Foundation Good Things Foundation Digital divide presentation
10 March Business Leaders Forum The Lord Mayor’s Appeal Presentation and Q&A on social mobility/diversity and inclusion

Annex B: Commissioners’ engagements

Saeed Atcha

When Activity
8 January Greater Manchester Independent Inequalities Commission meeting
18 January Greater Manchester Independent Inequalities Commission workshop with grassroot organisation on education, employment and skills
20 January Commission Board meeting – SMC business/forward planning
21 January Speech to BITC Social Mobility Webinar event on Improving life outcomes through building essential skills
29 January Greater Manchester Independent Inequalities Commission meeting
2 February Commissioner’s policy briefing session with Professor Abigail McKnight on housing and race/ethnicity
3 February Catch 22 event - Speech on ‘Tackling the Digital Divide’
4 February Commissioner’s policy briefing session with Professor Abigail McKnight on Child poverty and Tax
11 February Greater Manchester Youth Combined Authority meeting with young people. Discussion on their approaches to tackling social mobility.
23 February 1-1 meeting with deputy head, SMC Secretariat
24 February Commission meeting - discussion on SMC business and stakeholder presentation on 30 years framework followed by Q&A
1 March Courageous Conversations: Speech for BDP staff in UK and Canada
12 March Speech to Santander staff on social mobility in the UK
16 March Commission meeting - Commission business and forward look
19 March China Global Television Network interview CGTN Interview on social mobility
23 March 1-1 meeting with deputy head, SMC Secretariat
26 March Launch event: Greater Manchester Independent Inequalities Commission report

Alistair Da Costa

20 January Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
4 February Commissioner’s policy briefing session with Professor Abigail McKnight on Child poverty and Tax
8 February Association of Colleges event - panel discussion on working together to support social mobility and the community
24 February Commission meeting - discussion on SMC business and stakeholder presentation on 30 years framework followed by Q&A
30 March 1-1 meeting with deputy head, SMC Secretariat

Pippa Dunn

20 January Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
2 February Commissioner’s policy briefing session with Professor Abigail McKnight on housing and race/ethnicity
24 February Commission meeting - discussion on SMC business and stakeholder presentation on 30 years framework followed by Q&A
16 March Commission meeting - Commission business and forward look
24 March Wealth Tax Commission: Policy briefing session on wealth tax

Sam Friedman

20 January Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
11 February Meeting with Secretariat to discuss the Civil Service report
23 February Meeting with Secretariat re the Civil Service report
24 February Commission meeting – Commission business and stakeholder presentation on 30 years framework and Q&A
24 March 1-1 meeting with deputy head, SMC Secretariat
31 March Meeting with Secretariat re the Civil Service report

Harvey Matthewson

20 January Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
2 February Commissioners’ policy briefing session with Professor Abigail McKnight on housing and race/ethnicity
4 February Commissioners’ policy briefing session with Professor Abigail McKnight on Child poverty and Tax
24 February Commission meeting - Discussion on Commission business and stakeholder presentation on 30 years framework followed by Q&A
27 March YouthSpeak Forum – Panel session on reducing inequalities

Jessica Oghenegweke

20 January Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
3 February National Apprenticeships week event planning meeting with Secretariat
4 February Commissioners’ policy briefing session with Professor Abigail McKnight on Child poverty and Tax
8 February Westminster Education Forum Conference – speech on Next steps for early years education in England - EYFS implementation, the workforce, inspection, and the impact of COVID-19
9 February Hosted Apprentice Nation Webinar & Q&A session
10 February Attendance at apprenticeship masterclass webinar
11 February Apprentice Nation Webinar & Q&A
10 February Introductory meeting with Matt Buttery, CEO, Triple P UK – re early years
15 February Hosted an event on ‘Together Inspiring the Next Generation (TING) Goal’ setting and mindset masterclass for young entrepreneurs
24 February Commission meeting - discussion on SMC business and stakeholder presentation on 30 years framework followed by Q&A
8 March Hosted Together Inspiring the Next Generation (TING) Writing a business plan masterclass for young entrepreneurs
19 March Meeting with Sir Peter Estlin, Chair of Association of Apprenticeships
22 March 1-1 meeting with deputy head, SMC Secretariat
24 March Wealth Tax Commission: Policy briefing session on wealth tax
29 March Brainstorming session with Secretariat regarding SMC Instagram
29 March Hosted Together Inspiring the Next Generation (TING) Managing your finance masterclass for young entrepreneurs
30 March Minister Keegan briefing session on Apprenticeships

Farrah Storr

11 January Interview with Women in Journalism regarding SMC/Elle partnership
20 January Commission meeting – SMC business/forward planning
21 January Creative Leaders Breakfast on social mobility
28 January Meeting with Freelancer Union on consequence of Creative leaders- tackling social mobility with creative freelancers
2 February Commissioner’s policy briefing session with Prof Abigail McKnight on housing and race/ethnicity
3 February PEC/Nesta Research Interview on social mobility
4 February Commissioner’s policy briefing session with Professor Abigail McKnight on child poverty and tax
9 February British Fashion Council Podcast on social mobility
24 February Commission meeting - discussion on SMC business and stakeholder presentation on 30 years framework followed by Q&A
3 March Estee Lauder international Women’s Day conference talking about social mobility
8 March Panel member on SMC Secretariat recruitment panel
16 March Kings College London Civic leadership talk on social mobility and the media
16 March Commission meeting – discussion on SMC business
22 March 1-1 meeting with deputy head, SMC Secretariat
24 March Wealth Tax Commission: Policy briefing session on wealth tax
31 March Discussion with deputy head, SMC Secretariat re X Elle

Jody Walker

20 January Commission meeting – Discussion on SMC business/forward planning
24 February Commission meeting - discussion on SMC business and stakeholder presentation on 30 years framework followed by Q&A
16 March Commission meeting – discussion on SMC business
24 March Wealth Tax Commission: Policy briefing session and Q&A on wealth tax
30 March 1-1 catch up meeting with deputy head, SMC Secretariat

Liz Williams

20 January Commission meeting – SMC business/stakeholder collaboration
21 January Advancing Social Mobility at Work speech
22 January Panelist: Driving the Social Mobility Agenda – DLA Piper
2 February Policy briefing session and Q&A with Prof Abigail McKnight on housing and race/ethnicity
3 February Panel chair - Tackling the digital divide event
16 Feb Podcast recording - Tackling unemployment: digital futures and careers - NCFE
24 February Commission meeting
24 February Roundtable chair – Movement to Work event on bridging the skills gap
25 February SMC learning event with Helen Milner – Presentation on the digital divide
26 February - Tech Talent Charter Inclusion in Tech Festival event - Speech on how do we tackle the pipeline problem
2 March 3rd Public Sector Innovation Conference – panel member on tackling economic inequality session
16 March Commission meeting
17 March Briefing meeting with Secretariat on SMC digital divide research project
17 March 1-1 catch-up meeting with Secretariat deputy director
29 March Digital Exclusion roundtable – Catch 22 (follow on to 3 Feb event)
29 March City of London Socio-economic Diversity Task Force – introductory meeting with working group lead Andy Haldane
31 March Briefing meeting with Secretariat on SMC digital divide research project

Sammy Wright

5 January Interview on Newsnight
8 January Ofqual 2021 committee board meeting
13 January Ofqual 2021 committee board meeting
13 January Meeting with the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London – Exams catch-up
15 January GCSE, AS and A level 2021 consultation briefing with DfE strategic relationships group; briefing for consultation on 2021 vocational qualifications
18 January Meeting with Lindsay Trammell
19 January Meeting with Elizabeth Garnham, Office for Students
20 January Commission Board meeting
22 January Meeting with DfE/Ofqual meeting on exams
25 January SMC meeting with David Johnston MP
25 January Meeting with Natalie Perrera from EPI
27 January Meeting with David Hughes from AOC
2 February Interview on Five Live with Naga Munchetty
2 February Policy briefing session with Prof Abigail McKnight on Housing and Race & Ethnicity
2 February Meeting with Panorama researchers on education catch-up
4 February Policy briefing session on child poverty and tax with Prof Abigail McKnight
8 February Conference call with DfE officials about post Qualification university admissions
9 February Conference call with DfE officials about mitigating lost learning
10 February Civic University Network panel session on Improving local prosperity through pathways and participation
11 February Meeting with Bill Lucas of Rethinking Assessment
16 February Meeting with Dr Omar Khan, Director, Transforming Access and Student Outcomes (TASO)
19 February Presentation on social mobility at Tortoise Media event
22 February Briefing meeting with Secretariat deputy director on education catch-up
23 February Meeting with Sir Kevan Collins, DfE Education Recovery Commissioner
24 February Commission Board meeting
24 February Meeting with David Brown from DfE regarding exams 2021
25 February Social Mobility Foundation roundtable event on mitigating the impact of the pandemic on young people’s learning
25 February BBC News interview on education catch-up
25 February Meeting with John Cope, UCAS, on education catch-up
9 March Social mobility presentation to Teach First School Strategy Board
16 March Against the odds/progress 8 report meeting with Secretariat
16 March Commission Board meeting
16 March Catch-up meeting with Secretariat director and deputy director
25 March Institute of Government & Public Policy’s event - Keynote speech on Social Mobility and Education
26 March Meeting with BBC bitesize about careers content
31 March Meeting with Secretariat re data for social mobility project