Impact of opportunity areas will be unknown until at least 2021

The government will not be able to see the impact of its £72 million project,which aims to boost social mobility in 12 areas, until after 2020, according to government research.

In a bid to increase social mobility, Blackpool, Derby, Norwich, Oldham, Scarborough, West Somerset, Bradford, Doncaster, Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, Hastings, Ipswich and Stoke-on-Trent, were named as “opportunity areas”.

However, John Rodger, a partner with York Consulting, who has been hired by the government to evaluate the success of the programme, has warned that expectations “may be set too high” and that evaluation may take longer than expected.

The areas selected have been identified as having low levels of social mobility by schools and councils, and will receive a share of £72 million to be used to build teaching and leadership capacity, and improve access to careers advice.

But, the Department for Education’s analysis has found that officials will most likely have to wait much longer than expected to see if the programme is reaching its aim.