Response to Milburn's Elitist Britain report

Sarah Hathaway, head of ACCA UK (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants): “It’s a no-brainer to say this cosy elite needs to be opened up, and it is certainly something we support. However, it isn’t solely about what school and university someone went to. Employers have a major role to play in making genuine change to social mobility so that it isn’t just a tick box, CSR exercise that involves little more than inviting school children from a deprived area into the office for a day. Our own research shows that just half of employees say social mobility is an important issue for their employer.

“For change to take place, there needs to be recognition of the alternatives to what are seen as traditional routes to the top. Professional qualifications and apprenticeships should have equal standing, if not more value than a private schooling background, an Oxbridge degree and a job through ‘a family friend’. For that to happen, employers, as well as government, schools and universities need to make more proactive efforts, such as some of those proposed by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, but it will also require a major culture change across all those institutions.”