Labour’s proposal to treat discrimination based on social class in a similar way to racial and sex discrimination is unlikely to succeed, the chairman of the soon-to-close Social Mobility Commission has warned.
Alun Francis, who chairs the Social Mobility Commission (SMC), also raised concerns about the absence of independent oversight for the replacement unit unveiled by ministers last week.
Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson said she would shut down the SMC and establish Whitehall’s first dedicated team focused on tackling class inequality and discrimination.
The new unit will operate within the Office for Equality and Opportunity, alongside teams dealing with race, gender, LGBT and disability rights.
Among its first responsibilities will be introducing a socio-economic duty for public bodies, requiring them to consider how their decisions on areas including transport, services and budgets could improve the lives of lower-income families.
The SMC, which was established in 2010 and was formerly called the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, will be abolished under the plans.
Asked by the BBC whether the new arrangement would be effective, Mr Francis said: ‘If they [the government] have decided that a unit for class offers a better way forward for their agenda then I wish them well. I don’t think they’re right and I think it’s a mistake.’
Alun Francis, chairman of the Social Mobility Commission, said Labour’s plan to place class discrimination on a similar footing to racial and sex discrimination was unlikely to work.
Bridget Phillipson, the equalities minister, said she was setting up Whitehall’s first dedicated team to tackle class inequality and discrimination while closing the SMC.
Speaking on Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour, he questioned whether the new body would have the necessary ‘expertise’, adding: ‘There are serious problems of definition around class.
‘Do we define it by occupation or income or culture? Each of those have their own challenges.
‘It’s a very useful concept sometimes for broad understanding of broad patterns. But when it comes down to designing interventions focused on individuals or individual groups, it’s a very blunt tool.’
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Bridget Phillipson last week said social class is a ‘deep barrier to opportunity’ and repeated Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s political mantra that his Government will ‘bring hope back to communities’.
The new unit will reflect the role of class in how people are treated and the opportunities they have in life, the Government said.
Considerations will include working class people’s experiences of public services, health disparities and access to employment.
The Government said it will bring in a socio-economic duty, which is something Britain’s rights watchdog – the Equality and Human Rights Commission – has previously called for and was a Labour Party manifesto commitment.
As a new power in the Equality Act, it will legally require public bodies to consider how to improve the lives of lower-income families as part of decisions around issues including transport, services and budgets.
It is understood that while the unit will seek to address outcomes for the working class overall, there will be a specific focus on improving outcomes for white working class people amid concerns this group has been neglected in recent years.
The SMC, launched in 2010 and previously known as the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, will close, with Ms Phillipson telling Parliament its work ‘will be brought into the heart of Government as we get Britain believing once again’.
That commission was established to assess progress in improving social mobility in the UK and to promote social mobility in England, but the department said there were no examples in the past decade of its work having directly informed government policy.
Mr Francis told the BBC Ms Phillipson has apologised for this attack on his work.
Joy Morrissey, the Tory shadow equalities minister, previously criticised Ms Phillipson’s plans and warned against pushing ‘more bureaucracy’ on organisations.
She said: ‘White working-class boys do not need another Labour quango lecturing them about identity and privilege.
And Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, welcomed the Government’s announcement, but warned against ‘crude class labels’.