The Social Mobility Commission has called on government to build three million social homes over the next 20 years to help the most disadvantaged in the country.

Making the recommendation in a new report, the Commission says: “High housing costs have led to the private rental market doubling in size in the last 20 years. This puts a strain on households’ finances, creates inequality, and impacts children’s education.

“Our recent work has shown how poorer children regularly moving schools contributes significantly to the educational attainment gap. Today, over 1.1 million people are on the social housing waiting list. To address this, the UK Government must build more social homes and create stability for private renters.”

The Commission would also like to see an end to Section 21 evictions, as well as see Government make several changes to Universal Credit.

They’d like to see an end to the two child limit so “larger families are not penalised” and also to raise UC child payments and child benefits “by at least £10 per week per child”.

Almost one in three children (4.3 million) is now in child poverty, 700,000 more than 2012, the report reveals. The organisation argues that the poorest families and their children have suffered most during the last 18 months and should be helped first.

30% of all children in England live in poverty, a much higher rate than either Scotland or Northern Ireland, but roughly equal with Wales.

The Commission has put forward a £14bn package that they say would cut chilld poverty by 35% (1.5 million children) “as well as helping many more out of deep poverty”.

The SMC also urges the UK government to put social mobility and these recommendations at the heart of its levelling up agenda. The Commission has frequently highlighted the importance of tackling geographical inequalities and supports the UK government’s focus on this. But it wants to ensure that levelling up is as much about investment in people as it is about infrastructure.

The report also notes that Covid-19 has made issues worse: “Every critical measure of low social mobility – child poverty, income inequality, access to stable housing, unemployment for young people and gaps in school attainment – was poor in 2019. The impact of COVID-19 is threatening to make each of these factors worse.”

Sandra Wallace, interim Co-Chair of the SMC, said: “Now is the time to take action and we must not shy away from difficult decisions. Now is the moment to level up opportunities for children across the country. Ending child poverty and investing significantly in education are two of the most impactful and influential things the UK government can do to improve social mobility.”

Steven Cooper, interim Co-Chair of the SMC, added: “A recovery programme presents a chance to put social mobility at the top of the agenda, but it will have to be a group effort. It will require commitment from government, employers, educators and local leaders to ensure young people have greater access to opportunities from school to employment.”

You can read the report in full here.