West Somerset

The recent news that a deep rural place has the greatest evidence of a lack of social mobility should be a wake up call for us all. This article tells us what life is like in the area. It explains:

As part of a government drive to help, West Somerset was chosen as an “Opportunity Area”, one of 12 parts of the country receiving government funding to improve social mobility. It will get a share of a £60m pot.

One catalyst for change flagged up in the report is the building of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which is creating thousands of jobs in Somerset.

But the need to improve education is central. Just over half the children in West Somerset achieved a good level of development at the end of reception in 2015-16, compared with almost 70% nationally.

A significantly lower proportion of pupils from West Somerset go on to attend higher education compared to elsewhere. Only 26% of 16- to 18-year-olds who took A-levels or other level 3 qualifications in the 2013-14 academic year attended university the following year, compared with 38% in Somerset as a whole and 49% nationally.

Susan Clowes, the manager at the independent advice centre in Minehead, tries to point people in the right direction. “I feel the population is dispirited. It’s almost as if life is done to them. They just grab what they can. We deal with a lot of people here who are not profligate, who spend every penny wisely and still struggle.”

Frances Nicholson, the Somerset county council cabinet member for children and families, said solving the issue of social mobility was crucial. “The population is unbalanced,” he said. “If we don’t address it eventually there will be no society, no community. It’s as stark as that.”