Talent is everywhere in Britain – the crushing reality is that opportunity is not

Big Issue readers will no doubt be unsurprised to hear that opportunity is not evenly spread in Britain. A young person’s socio-economic background – made up of factors like the income level of their family, their parents’ educational qualifications, and their family’s wealth – all play a critical role in shaping their own future. 

But as well as variations between families and across socio-economic groups, Britain is also highly divided geographically. It is a country in which where you grew up can have as much, if not more impact, than your family’s individual socio-economic circumstances. 

• UK’s tax system lets the wealthy off the hook, report finds – and traps Northerners in inequality
• Millions of Brits ‘outvalued’ by their own home as Labour urged to tackle ‘big wealth’
• Poverty and inequality are slowly poisoning Britain. It could lead to a far-right victory in 2029

Our new report, out today (15 May), lays bare how unequal those opportunities are across the country. We’ve ranked every constituency in England based on the outcomes for lower income young people who went to school there, looking at students who were eligible for free school meals at secondary school. This includes looking at school attainment, access to higher education, employment status and workplace earnings. 

The Opportunity Index provides the most detailed look yet at the geography of opportunity in England. And the findings are startling.

It shows just how unevenly opportunity is spread. The top 20 constituencies for opportunity are all in London, with only eight out of the top 50 outside the capital. 

Those in the highest ranked constituency, East Ham, were more than three times more likely to become top earners compared to those in the lowest, Newcastle Upon Tyne Central and West. That’s despite both areas having similar levels of free school meal eligibility. 

While 18% of free schools meals pupils from London are in the top 20% of earners at age 28, only 7% of those from the North East are in that same bracket, as are 7% from the North West and 7% from Yorkshire and the Humber.

The government’s Opportunity Mission aims to address these issues, but the data here shows the sheer scale of the challenge they face. To close the gap in opportunity, major changes will be needed both throughout the education system, and in the wider economy. 

In the education system, gaps open up early, before children even start at school. Ensuring all children, regardless of socio-economic background, can access at least 20 hours of early education at three and four would be a great first step to widen opportunity. 

In the school system, a change that could be made at no additional cost to government is rebalancing the national funding formula back towards schools serving the most disadvantaged communities.

Incentivising the best teachers to work in the most disadvantaged schools, alongside funding for evidence-backed interventions like tutoring, would also help, alongside restoring pupil premium funding in real terms and expanding it to cover students in post-16 institutions.

But regardless of changes made in the classroom, pupils cannot learn effectively if they’re hungry. While the government’s breakfast clubs are a positive first step, more needs to be done to end hunger in schools – including expanding free school meal eligibility to all children in families receiving universal credit. 

After school, government should work to widen access to both vocational and academic pathways, by incentivising more employers to take on apprentices, as well as redoubling efforts on university access. 

Ultimately though, opportunities for social mobility will only be available nationwide if there is a more even spread of economic opportunities across the country. We need a sustained effort across government, potentially including greater devolution of powers and reforms to funding for local government, as well as greater investment in infrastructure regionally – including transport.

In a country that is increasingly fragmented, it is more important than ever to ensure every young person, no matter what family they come from or where they grew up, has an equal chance to succeed.

Rebecca Montacute is head of research and policy at the Sutton Trust. Read the full report and see the findings of your constituency on an interactive map.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.