The State of the Nation 2024 Report published this week by the Social Mobility Commission provides valuable insights and reinforces the opportunities that can be leveraged to unlock the potential at Thames Freeport. The report outlines critical challenges to social mobility in the UK, highlighting areas such as regional inequalities, limited youth opportunities, and the need for place-based interventions. These findings offer a strategic blueprint for shaping some of our future work within Thames Freeport as we work to start addressing both local and national challenges with not just an economic lens but social mobility.
The report divides the UK into 203 geographical regions, providing a more detailed breakdown of regional disparities. Thames Freeport, located across three of these regions, can use this new localised data to focus its efforts on addressing specific social mobility challenges faced by the surrounding communities. The data observatory across Havering, Barking, Dagenham and Thurrock measures four main indicators of social mobility; promising prospects, conditions of childhood, labour market opportunities for young people and innovation and growth. All four are pillars that the Freeport seeks to improve through its inward investments and infrastructure improvements.
Regional Inequality and Localised Opportunities
The State of the Nation report identifies key areas that resonate with the development and continued strategic vision of Thames Freeport. The first is regional inequality and localised opportunities. The report emphasises that addressing regional disparities is crucial for improving social mobility. It breaks down social mobility indicators by geography, showing how different regions perform on various measures, such as childhood poverty, labour market opportunities, and innovation. Thames Freeport, located in a strategic region of the UK, is developing a more granular understanding of inequalities through our recent community engagement and work in skills and innovation. Targeting local challenges, specific to our region, will support more tailored intervention, focusing on creating equitable opportunities for the local population through programmes such as our Thames Freeport Community Skills Fund.
Education and Employment
The twin drivers of social mobility remain education and employment. The availability of good schools, high-quality job opportunities, and youth unemployment rates are the drivers the report focuses on. These are crucial to promoting upward mobility. The attainment gap between students eligible for free school meals (FSM) and non-FSM students is a key issue identified in the report. At age 5, the gap in achieving a ‘good level of development’ is approximately 20 percentage points. 72% of non-FSM students achieve this level, compared to only 52% of FSM students.
Labour market opportunities for young people vary significantly by region, with more favourable outcomes found in London and the South East. But within sub-regions, this can vary hugely. The report shows that youth unemployment in the UK is at its lowest since 2014, sitting at 11% in 2022. However, job vacancies per unemployed person have fallen from 0.9 to 0.7, making it harder for young people to find employment. Thames Freeport aims to further support this area by creating new employment pathways for young people, particularly those facing difficulty entering the job market. This will involve partnering with local businesses to offer internships, apprenticeships, and entry-level jobs to address this gap in opportunities.
The socio-economic background gap in university enrolment is closing. In 2014, young people from higher professional backgrounds were 3.9 times more likely to be studying for a degree compared to those from lower working-class backgrounds. By 2022, this gap had reduced to 2.2 times more likely. Thames Freeport seeks to help close this gap at a local level by supporting educational initiatives that promote access to higher education for underrepresented groups, such as offering scholarships, industry partnerships, and work-study programs through strategic partnerships with universities.
Thames Freeport, which aims to become a hub of innovation and economic growth, recognise that improving access to skills training and education remains a top priority. Leveraging partnerships with educational institutions and our local authorities will help develop a workforce ready to meet the needs of industries attracted to the Freeport. Recently we have placed a range of skills projects ranging from working with a VCSE organisation in Thurrock to developing new hydrogen training programmes for hundreds of students in the London and Essex Institutes of Technology. Our Skills and Talent Strategy, recently adopted by the Freeport Board, is a cornerstone of future investments in education and employment.
Thames Freeport and a Place-based Approach
Place-based approaches to growth suggested by the Commission report argue that a “one-size-fits-all” strategy is ineffective. Place-based approaches that consider the unique economic and social dynamics of a region are more likely to be successful. At Thames Freeport, we have a unique international proposition which not only seeks to create inward investment to £5 billion but in doing so create 5,000 local employment opportunities in the next 2 years. We know that the progress we have already made in gaining £600 million in local investment and over 1,000 jobs has been through building strong partnerships with local authorities, educational institutions, and businesses. Place-based interventions can be more effective when aligned with the local government’s social mobility goals, ensuring policies such as education, planning, and housing complement Thames Freeport’s long-term vision.
The report highlights the role of research and development in driving social mobility alongside regional development. One critical aspect is innovation. Regions that perform well in innovation tend to offer better opportunities for upward mobility. Thames Freeport is establishing itself as a centre for innovation and will capitalise on this by fostering and investing in an innovation ecosystem. Attracting high-tech industries, investing in cutting-edge infrastructure, and collaborating with universities and startups could drive both economic and social benefits. The Freeport has already begun sponsoring Innovation Labs addressing critical business and societal issues. We are deploying private 5G network capability across our tax sites and aim to roll this further for wider societal and public service benefits. We think this strategy will not only generate economic growth but also create high-paying, skilled jobs that can support upward mobility.
Social Mobility Strategy for Regional Development Conclusion
The insights from the excellent Social Mobility Commission State of the Nation 2024 report present an important lens and responsibility for economic development activities of freeports to directly address. It also provides a clear roadmap for the Thames Freeport focus on regional inequalities, fostering social mobility, and ensuring long-term sustainable development. By focusing on education, innovation, and inclusive growth, Thames Freeport has the chance to become the single largest driver of both economic prosperity and social mobility in the region.
Stuart Rimmer is the Interim Director for Skills and Talent at Thames Freeport.
