Moving out to move up

The Social Mobility Commission is inviting proposals for research to understand the nature and impact of how migration within Great Britain interacts with prospects of upward social mobility. There should be a particular focus on individuals that migrate from more deprived areas and how their outcomes compare to those that remain in these areas. This research forms part of the Social Mobility Commission's role to produce relevant research that provides new data and insights on social mobility in the UK.

Many deprived areas have so few opportunities for work or study that young people have little choice but to move. Many of the best and brightest will move on where there are better opportunities available. Additionally, the Commission's analysis in its State of the Nation 2018 found that those from professional backgrounds are much more likely to move, thereby taking opportunities that those from less fortunate backgrounds cannot access. This has likely led to whole communities being hollowed out and their potential to be economically and socially productive damaged in the process.

The Social Mobility Commission's 2017 State of the Nation report could be used as a guide for the initial scoping of this research, having identified 65 social mobility coldspots in England - local authority districts with the worst social mobility prospects based on a set of 16 indicators relating to education and employment outcomes. Many of these coldspot areas have limited access to further education, higher education, and job opportunities. This means local residents often have little choice but to move out if they wish to improve their life chances - and many do so. However, this may have a negative impact on the local community, especially if young, motivated, and high-skilled residents are most likely to leave. This issue is particularly relevant for disadvantaged residents who may be unable to afford to move out or less willing to leave their local community. In light of this, policy makers and local stakeholders are often unsure how much to encourage residents to leave their community for work or studies.

There is currently limited understanding of the frequency, nature and impact of moves out of deprived areas. Some evidence, however, suggests both that 'social hollowing out' has a negative impact on local communities and that disadvantaged young people are less likely to leave coldspot areas. It is known, for example, that disadvantaged young people are less likely to enter higher education (a common cause of moves) and also that people with lower incomes travel less often and less far than better-off peers. It is also known that friends, family, and personal experience are among the strongest influences on a young person's career choices, which suggests that aspirations may be affected in areas where young people are less likely to come into contact with a diverse range of people, including those in graduate jobs. Likewise, data shows that young pe