Fair access to professions

You will no doubt have seen Alan Milburn doing the media rounds this week, fielding questions on a new publication, "Unleashing Aspiration: The Final Report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions". The Report was commissioned by the Prime Minister, was compiled by an independent panel of experts, and weighs in at a hefty 167 pages. It examines barriers to professions, and - to cut a long story short - concludes that top professions contain a degree of elitism which is shutting out young people who originate from middle and lower income backgrounds. It also states that action needs to taken against this "closed shop" mentality, and that the Government should make social mobility its top social policy priority. Whether the Government will be able to act on it with a General Election less than a year away remains to be seen.

If you do fancy wading through the text of the report, you can download it here.