Speaking today (Tuesday 24 June) at the Social Market Foundation in Westminster former Cabinet Minister Stephen Byers will say,

“we are witnessing a silent and secret revolution where to a greater extent than before, those born into disadvantage and poverty will be condemned to it for the rest of their lives. It is a state of affairs that the government cannot and should not ignore”,

“there are still too many streets in which a child is more likely to be disturbed by the sound of a burglar alarm than that of an alarm clock waking their parents to get to work”,

“social mobility is crucial to any society that wishes to see itself as a meritocracy. Where people make progress and advance as a result of their own worth and not as a consequence of accident of birth”.

In his speech Stephen Byers concludes that it has become increasingly difficult to be upwardly mobile and that although the majority are doing well as a result of a growing economy, more jobs and changes to the tax and benefits systems, for a minority the picture is bleak –

• 30% do not own their own home

• 34% have no savings or personal pension provision.

Within this group there is a further sub-set of between 5-10% of the population who in addition to renting and having no savings also have no academic qualifications: face long periods of unemployment; exist on persistently low incomes and suffer from poor health. They are likely to live in neighbourhoods that are crime ridden, suffer from anti-social behaviour, lack access to good value shops, have underperforming schools and bad transport links.

Stephen Byers says the government should concern itself with this minority. He gives two reasons, “we need to support people on the basis of their worth not accident of birth. All should have the chance to bridge the gap between what they are and what they have in themselves to become”.

For the second reason he says, “there's also a selfish reason why action is needed which would benefit the majority. The group that we are talking about, in particular the 5-10% who are most disadvantaged are a burden on the health service; make demands on the benefit system; make no positive contribution to the economy and from their ranks come those who are most likely to be involved in criminal activity and general anti-social behaviour”.

Stephen Byers will propose the following action:.

• based on the circumstances of their mother, to identify those children who are at risk of a lifetime of underachievement, of existing in poverty and being dependent on others. A tailored programme of support and assistance to be available from the day of birth

• nursery provision, day care and parental support must no longer be the Cinderella of the political world and should come in from the cold

• steps must be taken to tackle the asset poor. To provide £2,000 to every baby in a Child Trust Fund, those foreign citizens living in the UK but who are not domiciled here should come within the UK tax regime. For those who pay rent they should gain an equity share in the property.

Stephen Byers concluded by saying,

“Government cannot remove all the challenges and risks which are part of our modern world but it does have an important role to play if we are to improve and extend social mobility and allow people to benefit from their own talent and ability.