16 January 2009
By Alex Klaushofer
Public sector bodies could find themselves with a new duty to tackle the 'old boy' network if the latest government thinking becomes law.
The government's New opportunities white paper, which aims to improve social mobility through better education and training for the poorest members of society, suggests that the public sector's major role in tackling disadvantage might be given legal force.
'We will consider legislating to make clear that tackling socioeconomic disadvantage and narrowing gaps in outcomes for people from different backgrounds is a core function of key public services,' the white paper said.
But the vagueness of the proposals gives experts little idea of what it will mean for public service providers in practice.
'The sentiment is very good, but the devil will be in the detail,' said Sonia Sodha, a senior researcher at the think-tank Demos. 'What we want is a target system that focuses not just on getting kids past certain thresholds but on children at the bottom.'
If the proposal goes ahead, it is likely to be included in the Equality Bill – due to go before Parliament by the summer. This will combine equalities legislation in England, Scotland and Wales into a single framework and toughen up the law on the gender pay gap and age discrimination.
But the plan is subject to formal consultation first, a spokeswoman for the government's Equalities Office said.
The white paper also includes measures to allow schools to offer up to 6,000 teachers a £10,000 bonus to commit to three years in 500 of the toughest schools; the creation of 35,000 new apprenticeships for young people; and a community volunteering programme for those not in education, employment or training in 33 local authorities.
The prime minister has also appointed former health secretary Alan Milburn as chair of a commission aimed at increasing the chances of state school pupils getting jobs in law, medicine and the upper echelons of the army.
The commission, called the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions, will include Jude Kelly, artistic director of the Southbank Centre in London; Sunand Prasad, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects; Trevor Phillips, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission; Michael Grade, executive chair of ITV; and former Conservative minister Baroness Gillian Shephard.
A report published by the Cabinet Office's Strategy Unit in November concluded that social mobility remained static between 1970 and 2000 and suggested that parental background might have become an even greater determinant of a child's success.
PFjan2009
