Mid-table ranking for Warrington in ‘State of the Nation’ report

WARRINGTON finds itself ranked 168 out of England’s 324 local authority areas in a report published by the government’s Social Mobility Commission.

The ‘State of the Nation’ report, which looks at prospects for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, debunks the notion of a simple north-south divide and points instead to a “postcode lottery” characterised by hot and cold spots nationwide. London dominates the hotspots, while the worst performing regions are across the midlands.

According to the report, youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds are much less likely to go into higher education, will earn less when in work and attain fewer top jobs. Many adults remain trapped in low paid jobs and struggle to climb the housing ladder.

Warrington fares better than most of its neighbours, but council leader Terry O’Neill recognises that there is more to do.

Councillor O’Neill said: “Warrington punches above its weight in many ways, especially economically, and we’ve made great progress in Warrington in recent years despite the government’s relentless funding reductions.

“But we can’t be complacent. We are committed to working together with our residents, businesses and partners to create a place that works for all – and early in the New Year we’ll be renewing efforts to address inequality in our most deprived areas through the Central Neighbourhood Renewal Board.”

‘State of the Nation’ recommendations include:

• all councils to develop a strategy for boosting disadvantaged children’s prospects;
• all councils to pay the living wage;
• greater efforts to attract teachers to poorer regions;
• struggling schools to develop partnerships with successful schools to boost attainment; and
• fairer transport funding, including transport subsidies for poor young people in rural areas

Councillor O’Neill said: “Not all the report’s recommendations apply to Warrington, but we’ll be looking closely at what we can learn from it. We’ve already taken steps in some areas, for example by introducing the living wage from April 2016.

“One thing the commission highlighted is that support in the early years is critical to the life chances of the most disadvantaged children yet councils across the country, including Warrington, have been forced to completely redesign or scale back children’s services due to government cuts. If we are to address what the report calls a ‘self-reinforcing spiral of ever growing division’, this attack on public services has to stop.

“On the plus side, 70 of Warrington’s 71 primary schools are now rated ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ by Ofsted and this means that more local schoolchildren than ever are accessing high-quality early years education. And many local schools are also developing the kind of partnership approach the report recommends.”