Call for probe into social mobility in Warrington

OPPOSITION councillors at Warrington are calling for an independent commission to report and advise on social mobility in the borough.
A motion is to be put to the borough council on Monday b Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Bob Barr (pictured), seconded by Liberal Democrat Cllr Peter Walker,  asks the executive board to appoint an independent commission and ensure its independence by appointing an independent chairman who will be asked to appoint members drawn from the business, education, voluntary and community sectors.
In addition there would be one representative from each of the party groups represented on the council.
The move follows publication of the 2015 Sutton Trust Social Mobility report in which Warrington South and Warrington North scored “badly” and “very badly.”
The two Lib Dem councillors want the council to consider the appropriateness of the Sutton Trust’s mobility manifesto for Warrington and advise on measures that each sector in Warrington, and the council, should take to improve social mobility in the town.
They also want an interim report to the council no later than the end of October and a final report no later than the end of next January.
Before the General Election, Cllr Stefan Krizanac, the Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Warrington North, highlighted the fact that the constituency was the 476th worst in the country for social mobility.
He pointed out that the constituency had been represented by a Labour MP since 1997 and that for 13 of those years it was under a Labour Government. Additionally, the borough council had been run by Labour for all but five years since 1998.
Labour, he claimed “had a lot to answer for.”