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23-06-2008, 11:12 AM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/v4/header_blocks.gifNEWS
Brown focusing on social mobility
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7468506.stm
Gordon Brown is to set out his vision of increasing fairness and social mobility, in what Downing Street says is a major policy speech.
Parents who agree to options such as treating children with behavioural difficulties or accepting free childcare places will receive £200.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44770000/jpg/_44770201_gordonbrown_pa226b.jpg
There will also be pilot schemes to help to tackle child poverty.
The prime minister is expected to say that speeding up social mobility in the years ahead is "the highest priority".
But he will stress that the government's plans will only succeed if people make the most of the opportunities available to them and "participate fully in shaping the future".
"Social mobility starts with parents wanting their children to do better than they did themselves," Mr Brown will say.
"But it cannot be achieved without people themselves adopting the work ethic, the learning ethic, and aiming high."
Personal experiences
BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti said Mr Brown was expected to adopt a personal tone to his speech, describing himself as "a child of the first great wave of post-war social mobility".
He will add, however, that these advances stalled in the 1970s and 1980s, with a "lost generation" of "Thatcher's children" subsequently left behind.
But he will also say that while progress has been made since then, background and class are still a major determinant of how well people do.
He will outline plans to try to improve social mobility, including better provision for the under-fives, plus greater support for families and young adults.
Injustice must be tackled, prejudice and discrimination removed and children's aspirations raised, the prime minister is to add.
Ministers will also unveil a series of schemes to combat child poverty - including grants of about £200 for low-income parents in 10 local authorities if they do more to support their families' development.
"It is the great test of our time: to build a fairer, more prosperous and upwardly mobile Britain," Mr Brown will say.
'Problem of fairness'
The Sutton Trust, which funds projects that provided educational opportunities for children from underprivileged backgrounds, has previously said the government's education policy failed to give poorer children the chance to improve quality of life.
A study conducted for the trust last year found that children born in the 1950s had a better chance of escaping poverty than those born in 1970.
The report concluded that the decline in social mobility seen during the 1970s and 1980s has now flattened off, but shows no sign of reversing.
Speaking at the time of the Sutton Trust's report, Conservative leader David Cameron said there was "a problem of fairness" in the UK.
Social mobility is an urgent issue for the government, given the widespread predictions that it will miss its target of halving child poverty by 2010.
Brown focusing on social mobility
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7468506.stm
Gordon Brown is to set out his vision of increasing fairness and social mobility, in what Downing Street says is a major policy speech.
Parents who agree to options such as treating children with behavioural difficulties or accepting free childcare places will receive £200.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44770000/jpg/_44770201_gordonbrown_pa226b.jpg
There will also be pilot schemes to help to tackle child poverty.
The prime minister is expected to say that speeding up social mobility in the years ahead is "the highest priority".
But he will stress that the government's plans will only succeed if people make the most of the opportunities available to them and "participate fully in shaping the future".
"Social mobility starts with parents wanting their children to do better than they did themselves," Mr Brown will say.
"But it cannot be achieved without people themselves adopting the work ethic, the learning ethic, and aiming high."
Personal experiences
BBC political correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti said Mr Brown was expected to adopt a personal tone to his speech, describing himself as "a child of the first great wave of post-war social mobility".
He will add, however, that these advances stalled in the 1970s and 1980s, with a "lost generation" of "Thatcher's children" subsequently left behind.
But he will also say that while progress has been made since then, background and class are still a major determinant of how well people do.
He will outline plans to try to improve social mobility, including better provision for the under-fives, plus greater support for families and young adults.
Injustice must be tackled, prejudice and discrimination removed and children's aspirations raised, the prime minister is to add.
Ministers will also unveil a series of schemes to combat child poverty - including grants of about £200 for low-income parents in 10 local authorities if they do more to support their families' development.
"It is the great test of our time: to build a fairer, more prosperous and upwardly mobile Britain," Mr Brown will say.
'Problem of fairness'
The Sutton Trust, which funds projects that provided educational opportunities for children from underprivileged backgrounds, has previously said the government's education policy failed to give poorer children the chance to improve quality of life.
A study conducted for the trust last year found that children born in the 1950s had a better chance of escaping poverty than those born in 1970.
The report concluded that the decline in social mobility seen during the 1970s and 1980s has now flattened off, but shows no sign of reversing.
Speaking at the time of the Sutton Trust's report, Conservative leader David Cameron said there was "a problem of fairness" in the UK.
Social mobility is an urgent issue for the government, given the widespread predictions that it will miss its target of halving child poverty by 2010.