Northern Gas Networks: Opportunity Action Plan

OPPORTUNITY ACTION PLAN

FOREWORD Although none of us get to choose our start in life, the circumstances that we are born into often act like tramlines that constrain our futures, determining the lives we go onto lead and what we can achieve.

For some with privileged starts, potential can be fulfilled, but for so many others, it’s a very different picture. Often success in life ends up relying on a lucky break, but one that never comes.

The consequence of this is a wholesale waste of this country’s talent at the very time we’ve never needed to tap into it more.

But we can all make the choices that can change that situation. Although we’ve had inequality of opportunity in the past, we don’t have to accept that for the future and what’s ahead for Britain.

And some of the most important choices to be made that can deliver a fairer Britain are from businesses.

With the right leadership, culture and approach, businesses can be a transformative force for good in delivering social mobility.

I know personally, how valuable opportunities are, and also what it’s like when there are too few jobs around.

I grew up in Rotherham, Yorkshire, in what is now part of Northern Gas Networks’ service area. My first economics lesson was when my dad became unemployed during the British Steel closures of the 1980s.

Today, the Covid-19 pandemic presents a fresh challenge to the numbers of opportunities available, but it makes it all the more important that those we have are ones that are truly open to the widest possible talent pool, and that’s where businesses like Northern Gas Networks can have huge impact.

As a utility company, Northern Gas Networks are uniquely placed to be a big part of the solution on levelling up, because they reach into every household and business in the region they serve.

It’s a significant responsibility but also a great opportunity. It’s reach gives it an unparalleled chance to have impact across entire communities.

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The national drive to Net Zero emissions by 2050 also means a wave of new skills that are needed and new careers that will be created. It gives us a chance to use that change to make sure those opportunities can be in communities where they can make the most difference. This is something that Northern Gas Networks has shown it understands.

Building on its impressive Vulnerability Strategy, which has set out to provide support for the most deprived in local communities, Northern Gas Networks’ work with the Social Mobility Pledge means it has now developed an Opportunity Action Plan, to take its efforts to an even higher level of ambition.

I am proud of Northern Gas Networks’ willingness to be tested and challenged in the creation of this Opportunity Action Plan. It has been a valuable opportunity to assess the best practice that is already in place within the business, but also a chance for Northern Gas Networks to consider how it can reach out further into communities with support for the long-term.

It is companies like Northern Gas Networks that can not only lead the economic recovery post COVID, and help us achieve Net Zero by 2050, but crucially play an ever more vital role in ‘levelling up’ opportunities in communities across Britain.

I hope that all other businesses inside and outside the utilities sector can follow their leadership and set similarly high ambitions.

Those are the choices that can change our country for the better, so we can make sure the Britain of tomorrow is the fairer one we all want and that uses all of our nation’s talents.

Rt Hon Justine Greening Founder, Social Mobility Pledge

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FOREWORD Growing up I could never see myself working in an office every day.

I wanted to do something practical - so I applied for an apprenticeship.

I was out digging holes and repairing cables for the first 10 years of my working life - in the rain, wind or snow.

These were years that defined me. I was learning a much needed skill in a job that had real and meaningful purpose; after all, I was delivering a wider utilities service that the public needs to live their daily lives. I recognised that the reach we had into homes could make a difference beyond just that.

And so I feel the responsibility now as the Chief Executive of a utilities company, Northern Gas Networks, to deliver similar opportunities, and deliver that first-rate service that people across communities need.

The Social Mobility Pledge has brought meaningful insight to our internal and external practices and provided recommendations for how we can move forward.

That is why we began working with the former Education Secretary Justine Greening and the Social Mobility Pledge, to put together an Opportunity Action Plan.

This has enabled us to put together a more holistic strategy that identifies the widest gaps in local communities across our gas network; and inform a more targeted approach to how we engage with communities, and deliver opportunity.

The Social Mobility Pledge has brought meaningful insight to our internal and external practices and provided recommendations for how we can move forward.

From a more targeted community approach; to removing barriers to the career opportunities we have, I am ambitious about how we can continue to be a real force for good in our local communities.

I believe this first-rate service for customers is more than just ensuring gas pipes are maintained.

It’s about thinking long-term: developing relationships, investing in local communities, and delivering opportunities.

This is squarely where I want Northern Gas Networks to be - a business that delivers as a force for good by thinking and investing in communities for the long-term.

In a time of national crisis, when many of the pre-existing inequalities our communities already faced have become deepened and more entrenched, this has never been more important.

In our Vulnerability Strategy we’ve set out to ensure we universally deliver across our network for those in the toughest circumstances.

And through our Community Partnership Fund we’ve delivered social investment into some incredible projects, such as Toranj Tuition, which supports 300 refugee and asylum seekers in the Hull; and Warm Hubs, which tackles fuel poverty across our network.

We’re determined to keep testing these boundaries and do more where we can.

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Mark Horsley Chief Executive Officer, Northern Gas Networks

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INTRODUCTION The Opportunity Gap and Low Social Mobility One of the largest problems currently facing the country is that of low social mobility and uneven distribution of opportunities. Social mobility is about ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background, has an equal opportunity to progress in life. In a society that is socially mobile, every individual has a fair chance of reaching their potential.

However, in today’s Britain, where people start off in life has a disproportionate impact on where they end up, both in terms of careers, and earnings. Their destination in life is often determined by the careers of their parents, their parents’ level of income, or where they’re born geographically. In essence, Britain has a postcode lottery of opportunity.

Disadvantage is becoming entrenched in certain areas of the country; with isolated rural, coastal towns and former industrial areas becoming areas that have significant opportunity gaps and becoming ‘cold spots’ of social mobility.

Young people growing up in these areas have less chance of achieving good educational outcomes and often end up trapped by a lack of access to further education and employment opportunities, and career opportunities thereafter.

The situation is becoming worse. An OECD study showed that income mobility was a reality for many people born between 1955 and 1975 from low-educated parents but it has stagnated for those born after 1975, with the United Kingdom performing worse than the average OECD nation.

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Following the tragedy of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the fallout of both the immediate public health threats and the socioeconomic challenges ahead, this situation is becoming worse.

NGN has recognised this, and has begun thinking ahead to the future of a greener energy sector, the skills and technologies needed to get us there, and the opportunities that will create.

This is creating a widening Opportunity Gap across the United Kingdom.

NGN understands that planet and people are two sides of the same coin; and it has taken leadership on the planet agenda and energy transition through its work on developing the case for the replacement of natural gas with the renewable Hydrogen. Its pioneering work on the H21 project, founded in 2016 to support conversion of the UK gas networks to carry 100% hydrogen, also looks through the lens of green jobs and renewable energy opportunities for future generations.

The Social Mobility Pledge is working with the purpose-led businesses that are determined to be part of the solution. These are businesses that have demonstrated best practice, and have committed to delivering Opportunity Action Plans in a commitment to making a positive social impact and help communities, colleagues and customers as we hopefully enter the recovery phase from this crisis.

Northern Gas Networks Northern Gas Networks (NGN) delivers gas to 2.7 million homes and businesses in the North East, Yorkshire and The Humber, and Cumbria; and covers 37,000 km of pipeline, including vastly populated urban centres, as well as sparse rural areas in the North.

NGN has been repeatedly recognised by Ofgem as the most cost-efficient of the UK’s eight Gas Distribution Networks (GDNs), not only delivering excellent value for money, but also supporting the region socially and economically.

Driven by its commitment to customers and sustainable innovation, NGN is at the forefront of utility companies in terms of its responsible business practices, and how it aims to have a positive impact on its customers and local communities.

It is a business that is fully aware of the problems that society currently faces, and is setting out to lead on the solutions.

It is businesses like NGN that recognise they have a role to play in shifting the dial on social mobility, supporting community outcomes, and redirecting their efforts towards areas where the gaps in life outcomes are the widest.

As a regulated company with a set service area, NGN understands the importance of its position as a business with a set service areas to become a leader on the creation of opportunities, which has proven a strong part of NGN’s culture - and is reflected in how NGN embeds this approach in its delivery of services every single day.

This can be seen at many levels through the business, and fundamentally through the way it delivers services within the Direct Service Provider model, whereby NGN shifted its outsourcing of maintenance services from tier one national contractors, to local Small to Medium Enterprises. In doing so, NGN has boosted opportunities locally through supporting enterprise.

It recognises the need to use its relationships with these communities to have a strong and positive social impact on people’s lives. The level of this commitment is demonstrated by the company’s business performance, with NGN scoring number one in customer satisfaction, safety and business efficiency1.

This is also an ethos which has been reflected in NGN’s Consumer Vulnerability Strategy, which seeks to ensure that customers and communities that have the greatest needs are prioritised. In this sense, NGN is a company which has taken it communities’ priorities and made them its own priorities, and this includes prioritising social mobility and life outcomes for young people.

In this Opportunity Action Plan the Social Mobility Pledge has identified areas of best practice that have already been demonstrated by NGN internally for its own people, and externally throughout communities.

The Opportunity Action Plan will identify gaps and opportunities for NGN to level up its already impressive efforts to make a targeted social impact across the local communities within its service area, and internally.

It will identify areas of NGN’s service area where data indicates that levels of social mobility and expected life outcomes are low, and as part of NGN’s wider commitment to vulnerability, it will help devise a strategy to boosting social mobility across the service area.

1. Northern Gas Networks, Our Community Promises, 2013-2021 (2013), [online] Available at: <https://careers.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/Documents/CommunityPromises.pdf> [Accessed 22 August 2020], p.3.

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NGN has sought to boost and support local enterprise in a bid to increase opportunities.

BEST PRACTICE NGN is a company that has placed addressing vulnerability at the heart of how it operates as a business every day.

This is firstly shown by the way NGN has taken a thought through and strategic approach to addressing some of the widest gaps across its service area. This includes social issues of all forms, from age, unemployment, mental health, rurality, to physical health; NGN has tailored its Consumer Vulnerability Strategy to the needs of its communities.

In response to COVID-19, the company set out to support the most vulnerable groups within its service area; and has sought to monitor the disproportionate impact the pandemic is having across its communities, ensuring that it can continue to respond in a helpful way.

Through its recognition that people and planet are two related issues, it has sought to embed the theme of its vision of an energy transition and ambition for Net Zero as the heart of its work across community engagement and boosting social mobility.

Through its leadership on the H21 project, NGN has begun increasing the body of evidence to replace natural gas with a sustainable alternative of hydrogen, and in doing so, aims to takes its local communities with it on the journey to a Net Zero future.

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NGN has set out to boost outcomes for people across Yorkshire and The Humber, North East and Northern Cumbria through its many community initiatives supported by its Community Partnering Fund, in partnership with Northern Powergrid.

NGN has also sought to boost and support local enterprise in a bid to increase opportunities.

The best practice section will elaborate on the successes of NGN’s DSP Model and how it has both localised and increased the diversity of opportunities within the ‘NGN family.’

This is all interwoven into the company’s Vulnerability Strategy, which has set out to identify vulnerable groups and improve their lives and life outcomes through forming strategic partnerships to deliver maximum impact at grassroots levels within communities.

From supporting Toranj Tuition in Hull, an initiative that helps those who are isolated due to inability to speak English; to establishing Warm Hubs in Northumberland as part of the objective of tackling fuel poverty, a concept which has now scaled across the service area, NGN has demonstrated widespread best practice in tackling vulnerability in its many forms.

NGN has also showcased internal best practice, with a strong track record of developing its talent from local communities, boosting workforce diversity and providing appropriate support to encourage inclusive progression within the company.

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A strategic approach to making an impact NGN has employed a strategic approach to ensuring it can have a positive social impact on local communities and customers.

This was based on Ofgem’s Consumer Vulnerability Strategy which NGN has used as a minimum standard.

Ofgem’s Consumer Vulnerability Strategy has five key pillars which NGN has adopted as the minimal expectation for what it should deliver in terms of social impact, and has been used as a foundation for its wider strategic approach.

The five areas identified by Ofgem include: • improving identification of vulnerability and smart use of data, • supporting those struggling with their bills, • driving significant improvements in customer service for vulnerable groups, • encouraging positive and inclusive innovation, and • working with partners to tackle issues that cut across multiple sectors2.

Building on the Ofgem’s Consumer Vulnerability Strategy, NGN developed its own Community Promises3, setting out the principles from which it can support the communities in which it operates, particularly helping the vulnerable and ‘hard to reach’ individuals4.

recruit based on the highest standards of integrity, energy, honesty and respect for diversity (Shape), and take active responsibility for all the land the company interacts with (Sustain)6.

NGN has developed five broad categories of vulnerability to support those in the company to embed its strategy: physical challenges, mental wellbeing, temporary vulnerability, rural vulnerability and financial hardship. This enables the company to analyse the social issues within the service area in a more effective and responsive way.

NGN’s strategic approach extends to its work in taking a much more detailed and closer look at the landscape of social issues across its service area, as illustrated by the Community Partnering Map (figure 1), which demonstrates the vulnerabilities in the different regional patches that NGN serves. This further underpins NGN’s efforts in going beyond the concept of ‘vulnerability’ as what might on the surface seem a general one.

The Community Partnering Map reveals the different vulnerabilities in the area and has been used by NGN to question, review and progress its efforts in serving local communities according to their more specific needs and gaps.

Figure 1: Community Partnering Map

This led to NGN’s formation of its ‘Five S’s’ which underpin its commitments to its colleagues, customers and communities, which include to: Serve (the customer the best it can), Stop (with an obligation to prevent hardship and risk to health), Shape (a sustainable future for its people, communities and colleagues for the future), Share (with a duty to form sustainable partnerships), and Sustain (the environment; and operate safely)5.

Each promise underpins the long-term outcomes the company wants to see delivered – making a positive impact on people’s lives and boosting outcomes and social mobility across its regions over the coming years.

It has also set out principal ways it will be delivering on the Five S’s. For example, NGN plans on connecting more than 12,000 fuel poor households to the gas network by 2021 (Stop); it wants to consistently create opportunities and 2. Ofgem, Consumer Vulnerability Strategy (2019), [online] Available at: <https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/system/files/docs/2020/01/consumer_vulnerability_strategy_2025.pdf> [Accessed 22 August 2020], p. 5. | 3. Northern Gas Networks, Our Community Promises, 2013-2021, (2013), pp. 7-11. | 4. Northern Gas Networks, Our Community Promises, 20132021, (2013),p. 3. | 5. Ibid., p. 7. | 6. Ibid., p. 11.

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Low social mobility is both a cause and a consequence of growing inequalities, impacting social cohesion and growth. It can have far-reaching consequences on present and future generations.

In certain areas, there are needs that go above the national average. For instance, a closer look at Hull reveals that a lower level of literacy is prevalent, with limited access to well-funded schooling.

As of 2011, 2.5 percent of households in the NGN area do not have anybody in its household who speak English, with a total of 5.6 percent in the area having a literacy level at Entry Level 1 or below – double that of the national average7.

In addition to this, the rurality of Northumberland results in fuel poverty with limited access to gas mains. This sees 12.8 percent of people experience fuel poverty in the NGN area8. The lack of strategic welfare, health and education provisions and strategies has seen areas of the North left behind.

Through research, NGN has been able to identify the gaps and vulnerabilities in the different regional patches that they serve and map them to create strategic frameworks to execute in the area.

Working with its stakeholders, NGN has shaped a vulnerable customer strategy delivered through the ‘AAA’ framework: awareness, accessibility and action9.

In terms of awareness, NGN wants to make sure that its employees and customers are aware of the services they can offer. By ensuring that its employees are equipped to recognise the signs of vulnerability, they can support customers there and then or help them understand certain referral networks.

The collaborative work of Infrastructure North the informal collaboration between NGN, Yorkshire Water, Northumbrian Water and Northern Powergrid – is an example of a pioneering and collaborative framework on a wider social mobility agenda, which looks to support the most vulnerable in the region. Accessibility is key and NGN wants to guarantee services that are easy to access and clearly explained.

Understanding that many customers do not consider themselves vulnerable is key to the framework. It is important for NGN employees to cultivate trust with the customer, give them the option to act independently and appropriately offer referral services. NGN wants to be certain that their actions are outcome focused, with clear set out actions that benefit the customers.

7. Northern Gas Networks, A7-NGN RIIO-2, Customers in Vulnerable Situations Strategy (2019), [online] Available at: <https://www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/A7-NGN-RIIO-2-Customers-in-Vulnerable-Situations-Strategy.pdf> [Accessed 23 August 2020]. | 8. <https://www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ A7-NGN-RIIO-2-Customers-in-Vulnerable-Situations-Strategy.pdf> [Accessed 23 August 2020]. | 9. Northern Gas Networks, Customers in Vulnerable Situations Strategy (n.d), pp. 10-11

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Measuring the impact of COVID-19 The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly shifted the landscape of social issues and community needs; and complicated the concept of vulnerability further.

Indeed, while this year has been particularly challenging with the impact of COVID-19 experienced on a global scale, the crisis was something NGN quickly responded to.

NGN commissioned an independent study of its service area to measure and assess the impact of the pandemic across the region.

This identified that NGN serves an area with a slightly higher concentration of COVID-19 cases than England overall; and a level of deaths in the region that in May 2020 was a third higher than what should have been expected as a proportion of the national population10.

The study also identified the service area contained ten of the most affected upper tier local authority areas in England with regards to cases per 100,000 population – Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Middlesbrough and Cumbria.

Further, the study identified the proportion of deaths in the NGN service area accounts for 15.5 per cent of those in England, suggesting greater vulnerability present in the region, be that age, physical and mental health, geographical location or socioeconomic background far more than would be expected11.

This has been a crisis like few others. And during a time of crisis, it is telling how a company responds, and meets the needs of vulnerable customers, colleagues and communities.

But beyond the immediate public health challenges of the pandemic, there will be many further socio-economic consequences to follow. Indeed, many of the pre-existing gaps in opportunity, life outcomes and social mobility across the country will likely increase and become amplified, as the economic impact unfolds.

Recommendation Understanding the complex relationships between the public health threat, and the socioeconomic difficulties, will be important for NGN to consider as it continues to monitor the vulnerability issues across its service area.

This will become an ever more important part of NGN’s strategic approach to its community impact in the future, and is pivotal in that it continues to be measured and monitored.

NGN should continue in monitoring both the public health impact and socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic across its service area.

10. L. Newby and N. Denison, Insights and Intelligence On COVID-19 and Vulnerable Customers in The Northern Gas Networks Area (2020), p. 2.

11. L. Newby and N. Denison, Insights and Intelligence On COVID-19 and Vulnerable Customers in The Northern Gas Networks Area (2020),pp. 2-4.

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Increasing local enterprise and opportunities through NGN’s ‘DSP Model’ Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have a crucial role in boosting opportunities across the country, and they account for approximately 60% of employment across the country and 52% of national turnover. For many local communities it is SMEs that deliver opportunities, and local return on investment and localised growth.

NGN has supported the creation of SMEs by introducing its Direct Service Provider (DSP) model as part of its strategy for delivering high quality, personalised services to its customers.

Having previously outsourced many of its maintenance services to ‘tier 1’ contractors, or more simply ‘large companies, NGN shifted towards outsourcing to smaller and direct providers, most of which are run and delivered by those living locally to the communities they deliver network maintenance services in.

DSPs are workers, or groups of workers, providing NGN services under the company’s title, but who work as contractors within their own business. As such, NGN set up the DSP initiative in three areas of the North East as it began its roll out of DSPs across: Durham, South Durham and Newcastle.

In contrast, the DSP set up guaranteed work in the individual’s local communities. Those employed through the DSP model know the area, who to speak to in the community, and have strong local knowledge and established links.

NGN is directly engaged with its employees and a simple measure, such as enabling work locally, drastically improves their quality of life. This local employment creates an important rapport between the employees, customers, and the community too, building a strong culture at NGN. And when those who are delivering the services know or live in and near the local communities, it boosts their ability to have a meaningful impact and boosts the likelihood of delivering higher social value alongside the daily business operations.

The model, which ensures a steady cash flow with payment on a weekly basis has seen the DSPs engaged with NGN and enthusiastic to implement changes that would improve the company’s service.

The outcomes of the increasing shift to this service delivery model has been positive, as NGN has seen an efficient and effective customer service develop and a strong culture with the DSP set up.

The success of the original three Direct Service Providers saw the expansion of the model across the entire service area.

While some DSPs are small with only one person, others can have up to fifty people employed. A total of 600 individuals are employed across 20 DSPs, s comprising 1/3 of the company’s employees. NGN is the first of the GDNs to make this step and while they recognise it takes work to organise, it first and foremost employs locally and creates a strong relationship with the customers.

The DSPs model puts the employees, customers, and local communities at the forefront of the initiative. It gives opportunities to people who were previously working with large contractors and would have to travel up and down the country to complete jobs.

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Social impact through the lens of a sustainable future Case Study: Andy Hughes, Utility Services (AHUS) The DSP model is unique in the utilities sector and has revolutionised the way the company works with contractors.

Andy Hughes of AHUS began working for NGN in 2006 through an external contractor. Starting off with one van and two employees, Andy’s business has transformed after directly working with NGN since 2011.

Now with a team of 80 and 25 vans, the AHUS team are based in North Tyneside and carry out mains replacement works across the region. With business growth,

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local work, and increased job security, AHUS has greatly benefited from direct engagement with NGN. AHUS is one of many examples that have thrived under the DSP initiative.

Not only is it benefiting the customers and stakeholders, closing certain social mobility gaps, but it further supports local jobs and generates investment (up to £70 million p/a) for the local economy.

NGN recognises that planet and people are two sides of the same coin. In the UK’s ambition to achieve Net Zero by 2050, investment in new technologies will be required that will create the demand for skills and create opportunities.

While the electricity sector is progressing with the scaling of new sustainable power generation, NGN has recognised the advantages of replacing natural gas with a more sustainable alternative.

Led by Northern Gas Networks, and in collaboration with the other gas networks, ‘H21’ was founded in 2016 with the aim of delivering critical safety evidence to prove that a hydrogen gas network is as safe the natural gas network heating UK homes today.

In addition to creating opportunities through investing in the renewable energy transition, it

also provides NGN with the opportunity to take its local communities with the company on its journey towards increased sustainability.

A quarter (27%) of Britons now cite the environment in their top three issues facing the country, putting it behind only Brexit (67%) and health (32%)12; and this is higher still amongst young people. Over 45% of 18-24 year olds place environmental issues in their top three concerns, with it being their second biggest concern only behind Brexit (57%)13.

The salience and widespread concern for environmental issues not only reinforces that NGN’s leadership on H21 and hydrogen solutions to replacing natural gas is the right thing to do but it also signals that it also an opportunity to engage with its communities through that lens.

12 & 13. YouGov (5 June, 2019): https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/06/05/concern-environment-record-highs

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Case Study: Toranj Tuition Boosting outcomes in local communities The Community Promise Framework plays a key role in how NGN delivers community outreach, forming a tailored and strategic approach to the specific social problems across its service area.

The North of England comprises some of the least privileged areas, as well as areas with specific wider challenges, from the isolated rurality of some areas in Northumberland, to the low social mobility outcomes in Bradford.

As a company rooted in the region, which serves and has strong relationships with these local communities, NGN believes it is the responsibility of the company to help address some of the complex aspects of vulnerability and difficulties facing the areas within the region.

By creating long lasting partnerships with the local communities, charities, and businesses, all of which are tailored to the specific needs and gaps in the communities, NGN can help drive changes which are mutually beneficial to the community and the company.

The impact in local communities is delivered through its Community Promises Fund, its community engagement led by its team of CCOs across its nine divisions, including specific projects that go to the heart of NGN’s purpose as an energy company, such as its Warm Hubs initiative, helping educate people on energy, how to save on their bills, and tackle energy poverty across its service area.

The funding decisions by the CPF are made by a panel of judges who analyse the investment cases put to the fund. In 2018, NGN’s Community Promises fund merged with Northern Powergrid’s Partnering Communities Fund, which extended the original fund by an additional £50,000.

The CPF is also delivered with the philosophy of understanding the local communities to ensure the greatest impact. That is why it is delivered with local partners. For example, the Leeds Community Foundation has assisted the CPF in reaching communities and organisations at a grassroots level in and around Leeds; enabling NGN to truly grasp the local needs and make a localised impact.

The CPF has a track record of making an impact and delivering positive outcomes. Over the last four years it has delivered 34 community projects, supported approximately 6,000 people, recruited and trained about 200 community volunteers, and has even led to job creation, with four fulltime jobs being established as a result.

The unique and localised impact of the CPF and its ability to positively impact typically ‘hard to reach’ groups can be seen in many examples.

For instance, one project supported by the CPF, Toranj Tuition, sought to provide support for and engage with the Punjabi and Urdu communities across Hull.

Established in 2016, the Community Partnering Fund (CPF), in partnership with Northern Powergrid, supports projects, events and initiatives which help to alleviate hardships and difficulties regarding fuel poverty, energy efficiency and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The project trained young women in key IT skills and recorded messages, translated resources and broadcast information. Not only did the project reach out to communities that were usually relatively inaccessible by the usual channels of engagement, but it also instilled ambition and creativity in the young women and helped them gain important skills.

The fund also aims to promote STEM, educate and inform, and engage with ‘hard to reach groups’ and form meaningful and enduring partnerships. It also looks to raise awareness of

It demonstrates how more innovative ways of establishing strategic partnerships through the CPF has led to greater impacts and outcomes across different and diverse communities.

Community Partnering Fund

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the Priority Services Register, an energy industrywide initiative which helps ensure those who are most vulnerable are looked after as a priority.

When Toranj Tuition applied for the CPF it was evident that their project was tapping into the ‘hard to reach communities’ and working on developing indispensable skills.

It was a project that incorporated two activities: one for adult learners and one for child learners.

The initiative received funding from the CPF, allowing them to provide 360 hours of tuition for 90 children and 220 hours of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) tuition for 30 adults.

However, the project not only had a direct impact on 120 individuals, it indirectly benefited a total of 360 people, including those involved in the project, for instance the volunteers.

There was a wider social objective beyond learning English - to provide information for new-comers to the UK to understand house management, including budget management, energy efficiency, carbon reduction, network providers, household dangers and other environmental dangers.

In line with NGN’s wider outreach aims, the session resulted in decreased feelings of isolation and increased sense of community.

The primary aim of the sessions with the children was to engage them with STEM subjects and to encourage them to explore a future career in the sector. The tutors were recent graduates in STEM subjects from the University of Hull and acted as role models, encouraging the children to take an interest in STEM at school.

Toranj Tuition strongly aligned with NGN’s beliefs: giving time, skills, expertise and connections to deliver impact. These sessions, both for adults and children, helped provide a number of individuals with opportunities that would benefit them in the longterm. As a company, NGN recognises that these small schemes do in fact have a very large and profound influence on local communities.

In providing the CPF to Toranj Tuition, NGN were able to support ‘hard to reach’ individuals through education.

They were able to address a gap on the social mobility landscape and address it by actively engaging with the local communities and giving them the tools to learn and progress; while delivering outreach that reflected the diversity of Hull too.

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Boosting education and skills

Promoting Health with Warmth

Working with a number of partners, NGN is committed to developing young people’s skills.

NGN aims to support 20,000 young people each year, from primary school all the way to college.

It is difficult to imagine a lack of access to warmth and hot meals, yet in large parts of rural Northumberland this is a reality. Research by National Energy Action has shown that rural areas, such as Northumberland, are five years behind the development and progress of urban areas when it comes to home energy and efficiency.

Through workshops, assemblies and talks, NGN educates students on energy efficiency, fuel poverty and carbon monoxide poisoning. The company recognises the importance of engaging with the future generations to ensure they are informed and protected.

For example, their education outreach programme includes Safety Seymour, a series of workshops with an exciting mascot and structured sessions to reinforce the message on carbon monoxide dangers.

Attention is also drawn to STEM subjects, in hope of nurturing an interest in engineering and inspiring the engineers of the future. NGN engages with young people in a number of ways to ensure that they tap into everyone’s mindset and approach to learning, thus not omitting any individuals.

This causes hardship for those from low income backgrounds. Almost 40 percent of Northumberland’s population live in rural areas where free gas connections may be cost-prohibitive, or they are simply too far from the nearest gas main.

With more than 17,000 people coming from a deprived and low-income background, fuel poverty is a real issue. It is clear to NGN that they have the capacity to support these communities through a number of different initiatives.

NGN are committed to providing support to those that find themselves in fuel poverty. Between 2018 and 2019, NGN exceeded their target of providing 1,917 customers with gas connections by almost 900 customers.

However, the company goes beyond and provides holistic support to their most vulnerable customers.

Case Study: Promoting STEM through Art Science and Art are usually viewed as two subjects on opposite ends of an academic axis. But NGN has demonstrated an exciting approach to outreach that encourages interest and engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) through art.

While replacing over a kilometre of ageing metal gas mains near Carleton Primary School in Pontefract, NGN were eager to engage with the young pupils and teach them about the importance of staying safe around road works.

Setting up an art workshop at the primary school, NGN invited their community artist Mick Hand to work closely with the students throughout the scheme. Through a series of workshops educating the young pupils about safety, they also together created their own mural to showcase what they like about the school.

From sketchbooks to a finished mural, the project saw the primary school engage altogether as a community, while simultaneously being educated about safety.

Naturally such an approach engages a wider spectrum of young people, even those who would not have considered STEM as a future career path. This is one of many examples of NGN educating young people about their work through the lens of creativity.

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By funding ‘Green Doctors’, customers are offered home consultations on how to save money on their energy bills and ways in which to access insulation and gas boilers. These opportunities have a big impact on the local communities.

When living in cold, damp homes, people will lead a life of isolation and low self-worth. A gas connection providing warmth can drastically change an individual’s engagement with their local community This is where NGN’s Warm Hubs initiative has proven specifically effective in addressing a significant social issue across the service area.

Warm Hubs Warm Hubs was set up as a pioneering project to support communities in the North dealing with fuel poverty, isolation and loneliness.

Approached by Community Action Northumberland (CAN) after witnessing themselves the impact fuel poverty was having on individuals, twenty six hubs were established across rural Northumberland in churches, community centres, pubs and cafés to name but a few.

Support and funding were provided by NGN over the course of three years resulting in a fully sustainable project with £750,000 of matched funding and committed volunteers14.

The uniqueness of the project, its sustainability and benefits are evident.

Warm Hubs has had a long-term impact on the local community and its volunteers.

Small grants alongside larger external funding were accessed to ensure that the buildings used for the Warm Hubs were ‘fit for purpose’.

The funding helped to provide hot-water boilers, refreshments, furnishings, as well as renewable technology or LED lighting. Free training was provided to volunteers ranging from Energy Awareness and Food Training to Dementia Awareness and Carbon Monoxide Awareness.

This training is not only relevant for the running of Warm Hubs, but also equips the volunteers with important knowledge to benefit them in the future. It creates close ties between NGN and the community and allows them to close the gap and keep providing them the required support.

Finally, the Warm Hubs project supports those most vulnerable. Over 1000 residents use the services each week, especially during the winter months15. In total, Warm Hubs has helped local residents save over £1.5 million off their total energy bills.

As a self-sustained project, communities now have the foundation to support those most vulnerable.

While the scheme did not succeed in an urban setting, it became clear that it was needed more than ever in rural, off-grid environments.

Thus, working with CAN, NGN are helping launch ‘POP UP’ Warm Hubs – one off community events.

An important development to emerge from the project is Action for Communities in Rural England (ACRE) aiming to develop the scheme across England with funding via the Big Lottery.

The project’s structure has been shared with other GDNs, and SGN alongside Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks launched the Warm Hubs initiative in Hampshire.

Through the scheme, NGN has been able to address fuel poverty and social isolation and acknowledge an alternative route of support when faced with limited resources. A small idea, which recognised a gap in the social mobility landscape, has developed into a national scheme, now supporting the most vulnerable in the country.

14. Northern Gas Networks, International CSR Awards (n.d.), p. 1. | 15. Northern Gas Networks, International CSR Awards (n.d.), pp. 2-3.

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Community outreach during COVID-19 NGN recognised at the outset of the pandemic that they had the opportunity and capacity to support those that needed help the most.

These examples demonstrate NGN’s coordinated response in a challenging situation. Keeping to their core obligations as an energy distributor they were able to support those impacted the most by the pandemic.

According to NGN there has been more discussion internally around ‘transient customers’, defined as individuals who fluctuate in needing support. In comparison to six months ago, COVID-19 and its uncertainty has seen more people falling into the vulnerability categories. Thus, it is crucial for NGN to recognise this shift and in response modify their social mobility framework, offering support to those that had previously not required it.

They reached out to their existing partners and gauged with how they could support them.

Firstly, the CPF was realigned for the next round to support charities delivering COVID-19 related activities, with £30,000 given to the Leeds/ Bradford Resilience Fund and £20,000 to the Tyne, Wear and Northumberland Fund.

Secondly, a grant was provided for Warm Hubs to further support their activities. Finally, PPE was provided to charities struggling to get hold of it through the NGN Procurement Team.

Employees have also been actively involved with supporting those impacted by the pandemic.

NGN have developed Vulnerable Customer Support Packages that can be delivered by the operational team to customers most in need.

These packages include key basics, such as toilet rolls, coffee, tea, pasta and baked beans to ensure they have access to necessities. They also, however, contain a carbon monoxide detector, energy saving advice, and information on the priority service register, giving them the opportunity to educate themselves and reach out for further support if necessary.

Other NGN employees have taken on the offer of unlimited paid volunteering opportunities, supporting AGE UK, the NHS, local hubs, St John’s Ambulance and Age Concern.

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Among its measures to support local communities, NGN introduced an unlimited community volunteering policy for its 1,300-strong workforce, throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

NGN also extended its offer of support, in terms of volunteering and financial support, to community partners and charities throughout its network. In May 2020 the company provided £50,000 funding for local charities through its Community Partnering Fund, in partnership with Northern Powergrid, and has continued to provide support for local partners throughout the crisis.

Boosting prospects: providing access and insights into work for young people NGN recognises that given there are pockets of the region that have particularly low levels of social mobility and deprivation compared to the national average, it has the responsibility to make a difference by creating work experience opportunities.

By removing barriers for young people gaining work experience, gaining an insight into the world of work, and building a catalogue of employability skills, the company can create long-lasting and impactful partnerships and address the social mobility cold spots.

NGN has existing work experience placements within the company, and while largely ad-hoc, it is working on improving awareness of opportunities.

Work Experience NGN’s philosophy is to structure work experience alongside its business operations in an organic and employee-led way, which empowers enthusiastic individuals within the company to lead engagement in schools and across communities in a way that aligns with the real work that the company is doing out in the community This means work placements on offer at NGN are very much organic and arise where and when employees lead.

surrounding work experience at the company and those that it could benefit the most, such as those with disabilities, who are neuro-diverse, and the consideration of wider groups of people who might face particular employability barriers.

NGN are yet to create a strategy that is focused on universal work experience opportunities for young people. Their vision is to establish a programme which would allow for an introduction and steady transition into the apprenticeship programme. This is something the Social Mobility Pledge strongly recommends.

Recommendation: By maintaining the social mobility landscape at the forefront of its development plan, an established work experience scheme could offer opportunities to ‘hard to reach’ communities and provide them insight into different career paths and the skills they could develop.

In addition, the new remote working practices and technological take-up as a result of the pandemic might present an opportunity for NGN to create a virtual work experience platform that would enable any young people across the service area to participate in work placements in the company, and democratise opportunity in a way that it has never been done before.

They recently hired a temporary worker with autism, conducting the interview in a manner that would help them. This experience prompted a discussion

As they cast projections for the next year, NGN is aware it needs to make its support more sustainable and long-term.

As a result of the pandemic company understands that the way in which it delivers services – including its outreach and support – will see changes. This includes opportunities being transferred onto online virtual platforms and financial support may need to be more enduring.

Recommendation It is recommended that NGN uses this shift in working culture, and the increased uptake in technology use and remote working practices, to increase the community engagement it can have in even the most remote, rural and isolated areas of the service area.

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Case Study: Jack’s Story Richard Davies MBE, the founder of Own-It-2-Own-It, works with local schools and disadvantaged children in the North East. He helps them find placements and work experience in businesses, in order to equip them with key skills.

Jack was introduced to NGN by Richard, hoping he could develop employable skills and an interest in the working world. While there was a limit to what Jack could do, he took part in the Safety Health and Environmental Awareness Gas Passport Training Passport course, a qualification recognised in the gas industry.

He was also given further insight into writing method statements, creating risk assessments, and evaluating projects. On-site Jack had the opportunity to understand the set-up of the site itself and the demolition industry.

This work experience scheme had a big impact on Jack and helped him gain confidence, acquire key skills and understand his future prospects. While previously he was uncertain about a career path or his opportunities, he was now geared to enter an exciting industry.

Developing Talent, Diversity and Inclusive Progression Everything NGN has achieved is a result of its employees’ hard work and engagement.

NGN creates an environment to help them learn, develop skills and succeed. Social mobility is not simply about accessing and developing new talent, it is also about removing any internal barriers within the company.

By enabling employees to educate themselves through training programmes and to build their careers at NGN, with fifty to sixty individuals being promoted per annum, the engagement and enthusiasm within the company can be maintained successfully.

Nurturing Values: The Company Culture A kickstart for careers: NGN’s Apprenticeships NGN is not simply about work opportunities; it also aims to be a launchpad for careers. Apprenticeships offer just that – the first step down the career path.

They are two and a half years into a three year long apprenticeship scheme, with twelve apprentices.

However, NGN recognises that they are all white British males aged between 16 and 25 and are interested in creating a more inclusive scheme that reaches out to those that would not usually consider applying.

Every month the apprentices are mentored by eight NGN retirees and spend three weeks being mentored on-site and one week in York undertaking educational training. It is evident that the scheme brings together the very best components of the company to help the apprentices succeed.

At present, NGN is working to make the programme more diverse and inclusive, thinking about changes they could make to ensure it is more accessible.

For instance, they have recognised that the requirement for a driving licence omits more disadvantaged school leavers who cannot afford to have one. As such, NGN is looking to remove these barriers in order to make the access points into the company much wider.

Its current focus on the energy transition – replacement of natural gas with hydrogen – through its H21 initiative is also prompting discussions of apprenticeships that focus on green technology. Looking forward, NGN needs to think about how they can take such an initiative forward and implement new ‘Green Apprenticeships’ to increase their environmental strategy and develop key skills for their future employees.

At the core of any responsible business is a company’s culture. Culture isn’t something that can be simply implemented or imposed, but it’s something that a company should live through the engagement and progression, and wellbeing of its employees.

NGN is committed to creating a working environment and culture which is accessible and allows employees to grow and thrive through networks and opportunities.

This is something that NGN has outlined in its approach to diversity and inclusion within the company.

A Focus on Progression and Development NGN takes pride in its culture and believes it is the company’s responsibility to see employees develop important skills to help them perform at their best and to inspire both the customers and their colleagues.

Recognising that the abstract skills associated with leadership – language, tone, behaviours – foster a strong perception of the company, NGN provides such learning opportunities for its employees to be empowered to lead.

Through peer to peer knowledge transfer, training programmes and 1:1 mentoring and coaching over the course of twelve-week programmes, NGN has been able to provide skills useful for career progression and in particular leadership positions.

This embodies the company’s focus on growing talent and encouraging it to progress and develop A good example is 3iG, the company’s IT department, which has been entirely developed as home-grown talent within the company.

Recommendation For those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, the requirement of holding a driving licence is yet another barrier to pursuing opportunity.

While it is recognised that the ability to drive to sites is an essential for many workers, particularly when the sites are in rural and remote areas, it would be a gold standard move in the direction of boosting social mobility for apprenticeship entry if NGN would reconsider how it could either: a) Review the requirement of the holding of a driving licence for apprenticeship qualification; b) Provide financial support for aspiring apprentices to earn their driving licence.

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Case Study: T3iG Matthew Little, Director of Innovation, Improvement and Information, joined NGN in 2007 working in the IT team as a Project Manager and then in the Senior Manager Team, before becoming Director in 2016.

In his current role, Matthew transformed the IT team into one which is centred on NGN’s culture.

By identifying progression and development opportunities, Matthew restructured the IT team, addressing the skills gap and creating incentivised development plans.

NGN used to outsource the IT team and acknowledged it was not good value for money, which led to NGN’s decision to bring most IT functions in-house.

Beginning with eight employees, the team has now grown to a total of sixty. Rather than outsourcing people, NGN realised it could do a lot more with an in-house team and provide more opportunities for colleagues on the team to develop their skills and careers.

By starting at the service desk, the new IT employees engaged with customer service firsthand, which was crucial to their development.

Furthermore, opportunities to learn and gain skills was a key benefit to an in-house team.

For example, investing in the employees with industry benchmarked qualifications meant that they were suited to take on more complex and senior positions, allowing for the constant growth of the team.

Matthew’s success at creating and growing a team from eight to sixty is notable and is particularly impressive with the low turnover of staff and contentment within the team.

The team is now looking to the future and how school and community engagement can help Matthew grow the team in the long-term, recognising that it will be important to tailor the opportunities, skills and development to the young people, who are driven by different criteria.

A member of the team was hired after successfully completing a year in industry with NGN. Organic growth is great for morale, enables people to visualise their career progression and helps them truly understand what lies at the core of NGN – its customers.

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) NGN is determined to create an organisation that reflects the diversity of the region and its community. It is committed to challenging and reducing bias throughout each individual’s employment cycle, giving everyone equal opportunities to succeed.

For NGN, it is important to foster an environment of inclusion, with career development processes and training accessible to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or socioeconomic background.

NGN has mapped out the various questions surrounding diversity and inclusion and has decided to discuss the gaps they are yet to address. From September 2020, an external contractor ‘The Equal Group’ will be surveying all the staff to build a dataset which can then be used to produce D&I strategies.

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This dataset will be important for NGN and will help them measure its gaps, in order to embed strategies to make them more diverse and inclusive.

Creating a dynamic working environment points to a diverse and inclusive culture and at present, recruitment to the frontline role requires no education attainment or qualifications, illustrating their effort to tap into the varying backgrounds in the region.

However, the company believes that there is more to do in understanding social mobility and engaging with, for instance, BAME and genderneutral perspectives.

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INSIGHTS FROM BEST PRACTICE NGN has a strong track record of prioritising its customers and local communities.

It recognises that given the nature of any one gas pipe being replaced or repaired every four decades, every gas maintenance activity is a once in a life time interaction with the customer and community.

This embodies NGN’s approach to putting customers and communities first in its everyday business activities, and the Social Mobility Pledge feels this strand runs through the company culture.

Building on Ofgem’s Vulnerability Framework, NGN has treated this as a minimum standard, and produced its own plan to address vulnerability in its various forms across its service area.

As the company covers a service area that has complex vulnerability issues across the region, NGN has taken steps in creating a tailored approach for each of its nine divisions, coming to a greater understanding of the nuances of vulnerability in communities, and engaging with the local communities and providing them customised support.

NGN’s strategy of taking a localised approach to making a positive social impact across its communities, and in fostering strategic partnerships on the delivery, has proven an effective way to improve the lives of even the most hard to reach groups be that alongside its everyday gas maintenance work, its community care programmes in Warm Hubs, its educational outreach or in its work opportunities.

The NGN story is one of local opportunities within its service area, and this can be seen in the fundamental ways it does business. It has shifted away from outsourcing to tier one

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national contractors and towards local SMEs in its Direct Service Provider model. As a result, NGN has benefited local communities with more opportunities through enterprise.

Through the company’s work experience schemes and apprenticeships, NGN is increasing accessibility to young people, helping them develop key skills, while also giving back – culturally and economically – to the region.

In the context of the energy transition, NGN is considering how the progressive development of hydrogen as a replacement for natural gas could lead to employment creation and the requirement for a newly skilled workforce.

It is therefore developing the concept of a green apprenticeship, alongside its work on the H21 programme, and its pioneering pilot of hydrogen use in Winlaton, Gateshead. With the environment being on of the most important issues for younger people, particularly between the ages 18 to 24, this is also a strong way to engage these local communities, schools and colleges going forward.

Diversity and inclusivity are interwoven into NGN’s culture and the company has nurtured a workplace where employees value and appreciate one another, reflecting their broader strategy in local communities. That said, NGN’s commitment in improving their diversity and inclusion and further progressing its performance in this area

internally, and has launched a specific piece of work to review the current situation to inform its plan on diversity going forward. NGN has recognised that strategically there is still plenty to be addressed and are looking further into reducing social mobility barriers for employment, for instance, hiring across different age groups and balancing the gender gap.

NGN has created a framework which effectively draws on their partnerships to provide the necessary support and funding for the local communities in the North. Initiatives such as Warm Hubs are a testament to the indispensable value NGN funding provides to the local communities.

The company’s drive to identify vulnerabilities is aided through training and workshop sessions for NGN employees, especially operational staff.

Outreach at schools and colleges enables NGN to educate the youngest in the region and engage them with their work. In particular, they have aptly entwined blended art with STEM to inspire a wider group of young people, thus understanding the impact they can have on students if addressed through different learning frameworks.

As a leading company, NGN has recognised that they need to think in the long-term and about future generations. Its projects and initiatives are foreword thinking and creative, impacting both individuals and communities.

This has shown NGN is focusing on making a real impact in decreasing vulnerability in all of its main forms.

In addition to the highly effective strategy implemented by NGN, the Social Mobility Pledge has yet identified some areas where gaps exist, for NGN to consider.

This first considers how NGN can progress its efforts internally, by removing certain potential barriers of social mobility within its apprenticeship, and re-engineering its work experience programme to a universal practice across the company.

The Social Mobility Pledge has also identified specific social mobility related gaps across communities in NGN’s service area for the company to consider focusing its social mobility efforts towards.

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COMMUNITY GAPS The Social Mobility Pledge has identified that some of the widest opportunity gaps in the United Kingdom, or social mobility ‘cold spots’, are located within NGN’s service area.

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It matches some of the deepest social mobility cold spots in the nation across two available national social mobility rankings in 2018 and 2020, and identifies where they correlate with NGN’s service area in areas across the North East of England, Yorkshire and The Humber and Northern Cumbria in the North West of England.

This uses the relative social mobility performance of the most the least privileged groups, such as those entitled to free school meals, across the life stages. This Index, albeit the most recent full Index, was produced in October 2018, and is the same type of methodology that informed the Government’s Opportunity Areas programme.

This has taken into account two studies of data.

Firstly, data produced of overall life chances by adulthood throughout local authorities, produced in September 2020 by the UK Government’s Social Mobility Commission. Secondly, it considers data produced in the most recent House of Commons Library Social Mobility Index, made up of four key life stages, and here considering 14 key data-sets, from which the HC Library generated rankings of constituency—level social mobility across the UK.

There are particular areas that have been highlighted within NGN’s service area as recommendations for NGN to consider focusing its community engagement and specific efforts on social mobility.

By better understanding social gaps in opportunity, organisations can look to have a more significant impact.

SUMMARY

REGION

SOCIAL MOBILITY INDICATOR

RANKING/533

Leeds East

Yorkshire and The Humber

Youth

532

Leeds Central

Yorkshire and The Humber

Schools

524

Scarborough & Whitby

Yorkshire and The Humber

Schools

529

Bradford South

Yorkshire and The Humber

Schools & Adulthood*

533

Carlisle

North West of England

Youth

530

Wansbeck

North East of England

Early Years

525

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Coldspot Overview A This section considers the lowest performing overall areas from the most recent HC Library Social Mobility Index made up of four key life stages, and here considers 14 key data-sets of social mobility, in NGN’s service area.

Leeds East Analysis This analysis outlines why Leeds East has been identified as an area for NGN to target its community engagement on boosting social mobility outcomes.

Leeds East has been identified due to its low overall outcomes for social mobility, which sees the area ranked 517th out of 533 areas nationally for outcomes across all its life stages.

Seven of Leeds East’s social mobility indicators rank in the bottom 100, with only one indicator sitting in the top 100.

Leeds East has the second lowest outcomes in the country for the youth life stage; and significantly low outcomes for school years and adulthood too.

Early Years Within the early years life stage, Leeds East actually performs marginally above average, at 239rd out of 533 areas.

Ninety-six percent of nurseries in the constituency are rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted, better than the national average of 93% and ranking Leeds East as 84/533 for this measure.

However, across the other measures for this life stage, the percentage of children eligible for free school meals achieving a ‘good level of development’, Leeds East is ranked 421st out of 533 areas; as 49% of those children achieve a good level compared to the national average of 53%.

School Years Social mobility outcomes in Leeds East see a marked and significant decline at the point of school years, and outcomes become progressively worse thereafter.

The school years’ outcomes see Leeds East ranked 441st out of 533 areas, meaning Leeds East is in the bottom 20% for outcomes during this life stage.

At secondary level, attendance of FSM eligible pupils at good or outstanding schools is 35%, making Leeds East the 39th worst constituency, and an average Attainment 8 score of 35 places Leeds East at 45th out of 533 areas.

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Meanwhile, ninety percent of pupils eligible for free school meals attend good or outstanding primary schools, with 36% of them achieving the expected level in reading, writing, and maths at the end of Key Stage 2, the national average being 39%.

Youth

EARLY YEARS (239th)

Only 79% percent of young people who were eligible for free schools find themselves in a positive destination (defined as being in education, employment, or training) after completing Key Stage 4, meaning a significantly high 21% of young people do not.

Only 27% of FSM-eligible young people will achieve two or more A Level or equivalent qualifications by age 19, those that do take A Levels will have an average points score per entry of just 19. Leeds East ranks at 387th and 517th out of 533 areas for these measures respectively.

Adulthood At the adulthood life stage, Leeds East ranks at 448th out of 533 areas.

Although only 22% of jobs pay less than the real living wage, average earnings are £384 weekly – compared to the English average is £443.

Housing costs in Leeds East are six times the annualised salary, the 148th most affordable area in England (where houses are eight times the annualised salary). However, in contrast, home ownership is significantly low at 52%. This makes Leeds East 60th lowest performer on home ownership in the country.

The percentage of jobs in the area that are managerial and professional is only 21%. This means that Leeds East ranks at 484th out of 533 for this measure.

ENGLAND

Percentage of Nursery providers rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

96%

93%

Percentage of children eligible for free school meals achieving a good level of development

49%

53%

LEEDS EAST

ENGLAND

The youth life stage is where Leeds East becomes a specific problem area for social mobility and outcomes for those living in the area.

For the youth indicators Leeds East is ranked 532nd of 533 areas, making it the second worst area for youth outcomes across the entire country.

LEEDS EAST

SCHOOLS (441st)

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a primary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

90% 83%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM achieving at least the expected level in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2

36%

39%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a secondary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

35%

72%

Average Attainment 8 score for pupils eligible for FSM

35

39

LEEDS EAST

ENGLAND

YOUTH (532nd)

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM that are not in education, employment or training (positive destination) after completing KS4

79% 88%

Average points score per entry for young people eligible for FSM at age 15 taking A-level or equivalent qualification

19% 26%

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM at age 15 achieving two or more A-Levels or equivalent by the age of 19

27% 34%

ADULTHOOD (448th)

LEEDS EAST

ENGLAND

£384

£443

6x

8x

Median weekly salary of all employees who live in the local area

Average house prices compared to median annual salary of employees who live in the local area

Percentage of people that live in the local area who are in managerial and professional occupations

Percentage of jobs that are paid less than the applicable Living Wage Foundation living wage 22% 25%

Percentage of families with children who own their home

* Data reflecting most recent HC Library Social Mobility Index

21% 30%

52% 65%

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Leeds Central Analysis This analysis will highlight why the Social Mobility Pledge has recommended Leeds Central as the proposed remote community efforts.

EARLY YEARS (358th)

In total, nine of Leeds Central’s social mobility indicators are ranked in the bottom 100, and two of its indicators feature in the top 100.

Overall, across every indicator when aggregated, Leeds Central ranks 523rd out of 533 areas nationally, placing it in the bottom 2.5% nationally.

It suffers particularly for life outcomes during school years, youth and adulthood - being at best, in the bottom 100 for those categories.

Early Years At the early years life stage, Leeds Central performs below average, ranking 358th out of 533 areas.

Ninety six percent of its nurseries are rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, which itself is above the national average of 93%. However, the percentage of children eligible for free school meals that achieve a good level of development scores at 45%, which performance is significantly poor compared to the national average of 53%.

School Years Leeds Central is in the bottom ten in the country for the outcomes of young people during school years.

The percentage of children eligible for free school meals that attend a good or outstanding secondary school in Leeds Central is 27%, compared to the national average of 72%, indicating that deprivation is particularly clustered and polarised in the area. However, Leeds Central outperforms the national average on the number of children on free school meals attending a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ primary school, with 85% in Leeds Central, compared to the 83% nationally.

At primary school level, children receiving free school meals that are achieving the expected level in reading, writing and maths at the end of key stage 2 is 29%, compared to 39% nationally.

At secondary level, the average attainment 8 score of young people on free school meals at secondary schools is 30, which is significantly lower than the national average of 39.

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LEEDS CENTRAL

ENGLAND

Percentage of Nursery providers rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

96%

93%

Percentage of children eligible for free school meals achieving a good level of development

45%

53%

LEEDS CENTRAL

ENGLAND

Youth For the outcomes during the youth life stage Leeds Central is in the bottom ten percent of areas, placing 491st out of 533.

SCHOOLS (524th)

Eighty four percent of young people in Leeds Central do not have positive destinations, and do not end up in employment, education or training by the point of Key Stage Four, compared to the national average of 88%.

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a primary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

85% 83%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM achieving at least the expected level in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2

29%

39%

Attainment in Leeds Central is lower than the national average too. 23 is the average points score per entry for young people eligible on free school meals taking A-level or equivalent qualification, compared to a national average of 26.

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a secondary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

27%

72%

Average Attainment 8 score for pupils eligible for FSM

30

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LEEDS CENTRAL

ENGLAND

Adulthood Leeds Central performs in the bottom 100 areas nationally for outcomes during adulthood.

YOUTH (491st)

Only 25% of young people eligible for free school meals will achieve two or more A Level or equivalent qualifications by age 19, compared to the national average of 34%.

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM that are not in education, employment or training (positive destination) after completing KS4

Average points score per entry for young people eligible for FSM at age 15 taking A-level or equivalent qualification

Fourteen percent of jobs in Leeds Central pay below the Living Wage, which outperforms most other areas across the country, with an average of 25%. This means more people are paid fairly in Leeds Central than most areas, despite the wider levels of low social mobility. Meanwhile, the median weekly salary of workers in Leeds Central is £378, compared to £443 nationally.

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM at age 15 achieving two or more A-Levels or equivalent by the age of 19

Nineteen percent of people in Leeds Central are in managerial or professional occupations, compared to an average of 30% nationally.

Housing costs are more affordable in Leeds Central compared to most areas nationally, being four times the median annual salary; however, the percentage of families with children who own their own homes is still dramatically lower than the national average, at 38% in Leeds Central, compared to 65% across the country.

ADULTHOOD (455th)

84% 88% 23

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25% 34%

LEEDS CENTRAL

ENGLAND

£378

£443

4x

8x

Median weekly salary of all employees who live in the local area

Average house prices compared to median annual salary of employees who live in the local area

Percentage of people that live in the local area who are in managerial and professional occupations

Percentage of jobs that are paid less than the applicable Living Wage Foundation living wage 14% 25%

Percentage of families with children who own their home

* Data reflecting most recent HC Library Social Mobility Index

19% 30%

38% 65%

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Scarborough and Whitby Analysis While Scarborough and Whitby has one of the lower overall social mobility outcomes in England, at 497th out of 533 areas, it has been particularly identified due to its school outcomes, which are the fifth worst of any across England.

For youth, Scarborough performs better than school years, ranking 280th out of 533.

Scarborough and Whitby presents a complex picture of social mobility: with average outcomes for early years and youth; but significantly low outcomes for school and adulthood.

Sixteen percent of young people eligible for free school meals in Scarborough and Whitby do not end up in education, employment or training, which puts the area in the bottom 100 nationally for this measure. Only 31% of young people eligible for free school meals achieve 2 or more A Levels, or equivalent, in the area, which is below the national average. However, this is in contrast to the points at entry for A Levels being higher than the national average, at 29 to 26.

Early Years

Adulthood

During the early years life stage, Scarborough and Whitby performs just below average, ranking 280th out of 533 areas. 95% of its nurseries are rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, which itself is above the national average of 93%; while its levels of expected early years attainment for those on free school meals is 50%, just below the national average of 53%. In summary, the performance of Scarborough and Whitby during early years is not problematic.

In terms of earnings through adulthood, the median earnings in Scarborough and Whitby are £352, a quarter lower than the national median of £443. Furthermore, 34% of adults in Scarborough and Whitby earn lower than the Living Wage, compared to only 25% nationally, demonstrating that over a third of opportunities in the area are often not fair paying ones.

Six of Scarborough and Whitby’s social mobility indicators are in the bottom 100, and none of its indicators feature in the top 100.

School Years The life stage of school years is the particular concern for Scarborough and Whitby. It is the fifth worst of any area in the country for outcomes during the school years.

Only 21% of those on free school meals achieve expected levels of reading, writing and maths by the time they reach Key Stage 2, almost half of the national average of 39%. Meanwhile, 78% of those eligible for free school meals attend a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ primary school, 5% below the national average.

The same problem can be seen in secondary schools in Scarborough and Whitby. Only 31% of children eligible for free school meals attend a secondary school rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ which is once again almost half the national average of 72%.

Furthermore, the average attainment 8 score for young people in secondary schools in Scarborough and Whitby is 34, 5 points below the national average of 39. This demonstrates a clear problem of both attainment and achievement and access to good or outstanding education.

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Youth

Housing costs in Scarborough and Whitby are relatively affordable, at 6x earnings, compared to the national average of 8x. Meanwhile, the percentage of households with children that own their own homes remains below the national average at 63% in Scarborough and Whitby, compared to 65% nationally.

EARLY YEARS (280th)

SCARBOROUGH AND WHITBY

ENGLAND

Percentage of Nursery providers rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

95%

93%

Percentage of children eligible for free school meals achieving a good level of development

50%

53%

SCARBOROUGH AND WHITBY

ENGLAND

SCHOOLS (529th)

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a primary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

78% 83%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM achieving at least the expected level in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2

21%

39%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a secondary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

31%

72%

Average Attainment 8 score for pupils eligible for FSM

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SCARBOROUGH AND WHITBY

ENGLAND

YOUTH (288th)

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM that are not in education, employment or training (positive destination) after completing KS4

Average points score per entry for young people eligible for FSM at age 15 taking A-level or equivalent qualification

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM at age 15 achieving two or more A-Levels or equivalent by the age of 19

ADULTHOOD (471st)

84% 88% 29

26

31% 34%

SCARBOROUGH AND WHITBY

ENGLAND

£352

£443

6x

8x

Median weekly salary of all employees who live in the local area

Average house prices compared to median annual salary of employees who live in the local area

Percentage of people that live in the local area who are in managerial and professional occupations

Percentage of jobs that are paid less than the applicable Living Wage Foundation living wage 34% 25%

Percentage of families with children who own their home

* Data reflecting most recent HC Library Social Mobility Index

27% 30%

63% 65%

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Bradford South Analysis Bradford South has many of the widest opportunity gaps across the UK. Seven of Bradford South’s social mobility indicators are ranked in the bottom 100, and one of its indicators, housing affordability, features in the top 100. It has also been designated as one of the UK Government’s Opportunity Areas.

EARLY YEARS (252nd)

This area has been chosen due to its relatively low performance across school, youth and adulthood stages within the last social mobility index. In particular, it is the lowest performing area in the country for outcomes during school years; and has significantly low outcomes during the youth and adulthood life stages.

Early Years

Youth

The early years life stage is the one where Bradford South has a performance above average, as the area ranks 207th out of 533 constituencies.

For the youth life stage Bradford South ranks again as one of the lowest performing areas in the country, at 478th out of 533 areas. 85% of young people eligible for free school meals end up in positive destinations; while the average points per entry for young people eligible for free schools meals taking A-Level or relevant qualifications is 22 compared to the national average of 26.

In terms of nurseries, 95% are rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, which exceeds the national average of 93%. However, the percentage of children eligible for free school meals that achieve a good level of development scores at 50%, which is 3% percent below the national average of 53%.

School Years Bradford South is the worst performing area in the country for school years. 55% of children eligible for FSM attending a primary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted, which is a third below the national average of 83%.

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While the number of young people eligible for free school meals obtaining two or more A-Levels (or equivalent) by the age of 19 is only 28% compared to the national average of 34%.

Adulthood

ENGLAND

Percentage of Nursery providers rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

95%

93%

Percentage of children eligible for free school meals achieving a good level of development

50%

53%

BRADFORD SOUTH

ENGLAND

SCHOOLS (533rd)

On an overall basis, Bradford South ranks 511th out of 533 areas nationally in terms of general social mobility outcomes.

BRADFORD SOUTH

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a primary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

55% 83%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM achieving at least the expected level in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2

34%

39%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a secondary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

20%

72%

Average Attainment 8 score for pupils eligible for FSM

35

39

BRADFORD SOUTH

ENGLAND

YOUTH (478th)

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM that are not in education, employment or training (positive destination) after completing KS4

Average points score per entry for young people eligible for FSM at age 15 taking A-level or equivalent qualification

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM at age 15 achieving two or more A-Levels or equivalent by the age of 19

85% 88% 22

26

28% 34%

Overall, Bradford South ranks 462nd out of 533 areas for adulthood outcomes nationally.

Furthermore, the attainment of this age group is also lower, with 34% of children on free school meals in this age bracket achieving expected levels of reading, writing and maths; compared to an average of 39% nationally.

The median weekly salary in Bradford South is £372, compared to a national median of £443 across England; while 31% of jobs in Bradford South pay less than the Living Wage, compared to 25% nationally.

Only 20% of children receiving free school meals in Bradford South attend a secondary school rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted; compared to the national average of 72%; and the average attainment 8 score of children eligible for free school meals is 35 in Bradford South, compared to 39 nationally.

However, housing affordability is positive for Bradford South, with housing prices to median annualised earnings being at only 4x, compared to the national average of 8x. This makes it place 33rd out of 533 areas nationally for housing affordability. Furthermore, 63% of households with children own their homes, just 2% short of the national average.

ADULTHOOD (462nd)

BRADFORD SOUTH

ENGLAND

£372

£443

4x

8x

Median weekly salary of all employees who live in the local area

Average house prices compared to median annual salary of employees who live in the local area

Percentage of people that live in the local area who are in managerial and professional occupations

Percentage of jobs that are paid less than the applicable Living Wage Foundation living wage 31% 25%

Percentage of families with children who own their home

* Data reflecting most recent HC Library Social Mobility Index

19% 30%

63% 65%

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Carlisle The Social Mobility Pledge has recommended Carlisle as a target area for NGN’s community efforts.

In total, seven of Carlisle’s social mobility indicators are ranked in the bottom 100, and none of its indicators feature in the top 100.

Overall, across every indicator when aggregated, Carlisle ranks at 518th out of 533 areas.

It has the fourth worst outcomes for the youth life stage across the country on the Index, and subsequently should be a priority for NGN’s strategy.

In the worst ranking for any area across all of England, just 19% of young people eligible for free school meals will achieve two or more A Level or equivalent qualifications by age 19, those that do take A Levels will have an average points score per entry of only 21. Carlisle ranks at 533rd out of 533, the worst in the country; and 498th, for these measures respectively.

Carlisle is ranked 530th out of 533 areas for the youth life stage in the Index.

Only 82% of young people who were eligible for free schools find themselves in a positive destination (defined as being in education, employment, or training) after completing Key Stage 4.

Furthermore, it has been specifically chosen for remote engagement due to it being an area which has a unique lack of access to nearby cities, adding an extra geographic segment to its social mobility barriers.

Carlisle is 53 miles from Newcastle (1 hour, 30 minutes by train; 1 hour, 15 minutes by car), 74 miles from Edinburgh (1 hour, 19 minutes by train; 2 hour, 6 minutes by car), 86 miles to Glasgow (1 hour, 23 minutes by train; 1 hour, 33 minutes by car), and 92 miles to Leeds (3 hour, 19 minutes by train; 2 hours, 23 minutes by car).

While many social mobility cold spots face substantial challenges, many have commutable access to nearby cities (constituting an average train journey of <1 hour to the nearest city), which enables access to nearby opportunities.

However, Carlisle does not have this, and reinforces an already significant social mobility challenge for the area.

This highlights the scale of how some areas like Carlisle, which already face substantial problems with low levels of social mobility and life outcomes; also face a more entrenched geographic challenge.

In the view of the Social Mobility Pledge, this makes the problem of low social mobility more multi-faceted, and strengthens the case for businesses like NGN to redirect their efforts towards such a cold spot in its service area.

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CARLISLE

ENGLAND

Percentage of Nursery providers rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

95%

93%

Percentage of children eligible for free school meals achieving a good level of development

42%

53%

CARLISLE

ENGLAND

Additional Factor: Carlisle’s Geography Carlisle has been identified as a recommended area to focus remote engagement towards due to its overall low performance against social mobility indicators, with Carlisle ranking at 518th out of 533 areas in terms of outcomes across the England.

Largest Opportunity Gap: Youth

EARLY YEARS (443rd)

SCHOOLS (372nd)

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a primary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

84% 83%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM achieving at least the expected level in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2

35%

39%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a secondary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

51%

72%

Average Attainment 8 score for pupils eligible for FSM

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CARLISLE

ENGLAND

YOUTH (530th)

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM that are not in education, employment or training (positive destination) after completing KS4

Average points score per entry for young people eligible for FSM at age 15 taking A-level or equivalent qualification

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM at age 15 achieving two or more A-Levels or equivalent by the age of 19

ADULTHOOD (388th)

82% 88% 21

26

19% 34%

CARLISLE

ENGLAND

£360

£443

5x

8x

Median weekly salary of all employees who live in the local area

Average house prices compared to median annual salary of employees who live in the local area

Percentage of people that live in the local area who are in managerial and professional occupations

Percentage of jobs that are paid less than the applicable Living Wage Foundation living wage 29% 25%

Percentage of families with children who own their home

* Data reflecting most recent HC Library Social Mobility Index

22% 30%

70% 65%

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Wansbeck Wansbeck has been identified as an area for NGN to target its community engagement on boosting social mobility outcomes.

Largest Opportunity Gap: Early Years

Overall, Wansbeck ranks 527th out of 533 areas for social mobility outcomes across all its life stages.

Only 81% of nurseries in the constituency are rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted, which is substantially lower than the national average of 93%, and means that Wansbeck ranks 525th out of 533 areas nationally.

Five of Wansbeck’s social mobility indicators rank in the bottom 100, with only one indicator, housing affordability, ranking in the top 100 nationally.

Early years in Wansbeck should be a priority of NGN’s strategy on boosting social mobility, given it holds the ninth worst outcomes in England for this life stage. It also places in the bottom 100 areas for school and youth; and below average for adulthood.

Within the early years life stage, Wansbeck is ranked 9th lowest performing area in the country.

Across the other measures for this life stage, the percentage of children eligible for free school meals achieving a ‘good level of development’, Wansbeck again falls short of the national average, at 50% for the area, compared to 53% for the country. For this indicator Wansbeck is ranked 380th out of 533 areas.

EARLY YEARS (525th)

ENGLAND

Percentage of Nursery providers rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

81%

93%

Percentage of children eligible for free school meals achieving a good level of development

50%

53%

WANSBECK

ENGLAND

SCHOOLS (469th)

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a primary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

83% 83%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM achieving at least the expected level in reading, writing and maths at the end of Key Stage 2

43%

39%

Percentage of children eligible for FSM attending a secondary school rated outstanding or good by Ofsted

14%

72%

Average Attainment 8 score for pupils eligible for FSM

35

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WANSBECK

ENGLAND

YOUTH (466th)

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM that are not in education, employment or training (positive destination) after completing KS4

Average points score per entry for young people eligible for FSM at age 15 taking A-level or equivalent qualification

Percentage of young people eligible for FSM at age 15 achieving two or more A-Levels or equivalent by the age of 19

ADULTHOOD (335th)

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WANSBECK

84% 88% 25

26

24% 34%

WANSBECK

ENGLAND

£392

£443

5x

8x

Median weekly salary of all employees who live in the local area

Average house prices compared to median annual salary of employees who live in the local area

Percentage of people that live in the local area who are in managerial and professional occupations

Percentage of jobs that are paid less than the applicable Living Wage Foundation living wage 30% 25%

Percentage of families with children who own their home

* Data reflecting most recent HC Library Social Mobility Index

27% 30%

64% 65%

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Coldspot Overview B In September 2020 the Government launched a new approach to measuring levels of social mobility outcomes by adulthood across different local authorities.

We have highlighted which local authorities in Northern Gas Networks’ service area appear in the newly produced ‘cold spots’ by adulthood.

These areas which have the lowest levels of social mobility outcomes according to the debut measures of median age 28 earnings, quintile pay gap, and education gap.

According to the new measures for outcomes by adulthood, there are five local authorities within NGN’s service area which feature in the new cold spots: Bradford, Gateshead, Stockton-on-Tees have been highlighted as the key three for NGN to consider; with Kirklees and Kingston-uponHull also brought to attention.

Areas with the largest pay gaps are areas of low mobility, offering less equal opportunities.

Those with smaller pay gaps are more mobile, offering more equal opportunities. In all five areas highlighted, there is an upper quintile pay gap between those from the least privileged backgrounds and others. This demonstrates that in these areas, life outcomes (in terms of earnings) in these areas are largest dependent on where you start off in life.

It is also clear from the data that young people growing up in these areas will go on to have

lower median earnings by the age of 28. However, this could be interpreted as being subjective to relative local earnings, so the pay gap comparisons add the necessary credibility and substance to this measure.

At a nation-wide level, advantaged sons (on average £27,000 a year) earned double the income of those from the most deprived families (on average around £13,000 a year) and are predicted to be 20 percentile points higher in the earnings distribution.

Fundamentally, the data shows the difference in adult earnings between sons from the richest and poorest families who grew up in the least mobile areas is up to two and a half times as large as the difference in earnings between sons who grew up in the most mobile areas.

This should inform NGN’s community engagement specifically in the area of employability, and also in targeting its opportunities, to these local authorities that have featured as cold spots in life outcomes.

In addition to the previous Commission data that has identified cold spots across the early years, school years and youth life stages across areas.

MEDIAN

AGE 28 QUINTILE

LOCAL AUTHORITY REGION EARNINGS (£) PAY GAP

QUINTILE QUINTILE OF FSM PAY GAP MEDIAN CONDITIONAL NO. OF SONS EARNINGS ON EDUCATION IN EXAMPLE

NO. OF FSM SONS IN EXAMPLE

BRADFORD

Yorkshire & The Humber

9,500

5

5

5

8,969

2,024

GATESHEAD

North East of England

9,700

5

5

5

3,235

591

STOCKTON-ON-TEES

North East of England

11,200

5

5

5

3,683

596

KIRKLEES

Yorkshire & The Humber

11,700

5

5

5

6,923

961

KINGSTON-UPON-HULL

Yorkshire & The Humber

12,500

5

5

5

4,782

961

Methodology: this data takes into account administrative education data (National Pupil Database and Higher Education Statistics Authority) and earnings and benefits records (HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions) in the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset. These data, which have never previously been used to study how opportunities are passed across generations, allow us to link all state-educated sons, born between 1986 and 1988, who attended school in England, to the area where they grew up, and to track their educational and labour market experiences. The above data used by the Social Mobility Commission only takes into account the outcomes of sons, due to a data limitation for women, making the data non-comparable. The Social Mobility Commission has outlined that despite this gender constraint we believe that the main findings within the report are not gender specific. In short: this is a story illustrated by men, but its message is about all those who grow up disadvantaged, and how that disadvantage varies by place.

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CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS NGN has exhibited a strong record of best practice as an energy company that is committed to being a force for good within its local communities, for its own people internally, and in the wider environment.

Its commitment to its community agenda should be particularly commended, and its best practice to date, from its Community Fund to examples of initiatives like Warm Hubs, provides solid foundations to build on.

The Social Mobility Pledge has worked with NGN to identify barriers to social mobility that the company can impact internally, within its own business practices; and externally, by highlighting community gaps in its service area.

This outlines macro-ambitions and microdeliverables.

Internal Recommendations Throughout the best practice section in this Opportunity Action Plan, the Social Mobility Pledge recognises areas for progress. These pertain to NGN’s apprenticeship entry requirements; its work experience programmes; and the exogenous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lowering the barriers to NGN’s apprenticeships for the most disadvantaged young people For those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, the requirement of holding a driving licence is yet another barrier to pursuing opportunity.

While it is recognised that the ability to drive to sites is an essential for many workers, particularly when the sites are in rural and remote areas, it would be a gold standard move in the direction of boosting social mobility for apprenticeship entry if NGN would reconsider how it could either: a) Review the requirement of the holding of a driving licence for apprenticeship qualification;

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b) Provide financial support for aspiring apprentices to earn their driving licence.

It could also consider:

b) A clear structure within the work placement that adds value to young people and their experience of work;

c) Creating a more formalised progression pathway from its wider community engagement with young people, and its work experience, into the company’s apprenticeships programmes. It could package this as an ‘opportunity pathway’ for young people, that is made clear from the point of school engagement, to inspire ambition and make long-term opportunities in the industry clear.

c) Commit to a minimum number of young people entering the programme every year;

A new and universal work placement standard

Beyond the immediate public health challenges, there will be significant socioeconomic challenges in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemics that disproportionately affect communities that already have relatively low life outcomes and opportunities.

The Social Mobility Pledge recognised the opportunity for NGN to introduce a set standard of work placements throughout the company.

While NGN’s current practice of permitting ad-hoc work experience placements when and where employees would like to lead on them, the Social Mobility Pledge sees an opportunity for NGN to have a wider positive social impact on local communities, and opportunities for young people, if it is to introduce a wider standard.

In addition, the new remote working practices and technological take-up as a result of the pandemic might present an opportunity for NGN to create a virtual work experience platform that would enable any young people across the service area to participate in work placements in the company, and democratise opportunity in a way that it has never been done before.

In summary, NGN should commit to: a) Introducing a work placement standard universally across the company;

d) Work towards the majority of these formal placements going to young people from areas of deprivation and/or social mobility cold spots identified within NGN’s service area.

Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on its communities

NGN should continue in monitoring both: a) the public health impact of the pandemic in its service area; b) socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic across its service area; c) factor these specific challenges presented by the pandemic, and its localised impact, into its wider Vulnerability Strategy.

Measurement NGN should commit to measuring and transparently reporting the impact it has had in local communities, and specifically on the gaps it is targeting.

This will form a useful bases for ensuring the company’s efforts on social mobility can form part of its vulnerability strategy and demonstrate how the company is challenging low levels of social mobility in the least privileged communities within its service area.

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Early Years Engagement Framework NGN will take clear steps towards boosting outcomes in the least privileged areas during early years. This will consider: • Supporting parents of young children in deprived and less privileged areas, both externally in those communities, but also supporting employees and colleagues with young children;

Focusing community efforts on the communities with the lowest social mobility outcomes NGN has demonstrated a strong track record of best practice in delivering community programmes across its service area in a way that is tailored to salient social issues in those respective areas.

The Social Mobility Pledge recommends that NGN also considers where gaps in social mobility across the key life stages of early years, school years, youth and adulthood are widest.

The Social Mobility Pledge, in its community gaps and data analysis (section 4) has identified the areas where life outcomes are the lowest in the service area. It has considered these four life stages in the context of 14 data sets.

‘The Social Mobility Pledge has identified particular cold spots in NGN’s service area including Leeds (East and Central), Scarborough and Whitby, Bradford South, Carlisle, Wansbeck.’

[New Para] ‘The previous were identified due to overall low social mobility across all life stages.

Coldspot Overview B highlighted further areas

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that receive lower outcomes in later life that might also warrant attention. For example, Gateshead might be the focus of additional community engagement in line with NGN’s work in the H21 Hydrogen pilot in Winlaton.’

The means of engagement span early years support, school engagement, employability and opportunities in accordance with the life stages that have been identified as having specific opportunity gaps in life outcomes.

In line with NGN’s current and successful track record of delivering community engagement within its Vulnerability Strategy and its current Community Partnering Mapping. NGN might wish to deliver:

apply for a work experience placement to boost employability; • NGN should consider developing a 6-week work placement programme specifically targeted at young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the cold spots identified;

• Forming strategic partnerships with third sector organisations with expertise in these areas as part of the wider Vulnerability Framework.

• NGN should create and publish a careers toolkit, including advice on creating a CV, cover letter, provided for all who apply for a job with the company, or engage with the company in any community programmes, to boost employability within the service area.

School Years Engagement Framework

Adulthood Opportunity Framework

NGN will take clear steps towards boosting outcomes in the least privileged areas during school years. This will include:

NGN will take clear steps towards boosting outcomes in the least privileged areas during adulthood. This will consider:

• Targeting current school engagement in a more sophisticated way to areas identified with relatively lower social mobility outcomes for school years, including Leeds Central, Scarborough and Whitby, and Bradford South;

• NGN should foster closer working relationships with DWP and Job Centres in and around the cold spots identified to create pathways for those who face the highest barriers to employment;

• Targeting mentoring programmes to these areas, providing support with academic attainment and long-term ambitions;

• NGN should review its posting and sharing of working opportunities and look to promote to even more diverse groups and geographic areas. This can also look to boost engagement with those most isolated from work opportunities, returners to work and those who might consider changing career path, mid-career;

• Conducting this school engagement through the lens of the energy transition and the future of green energy, an issue which is one of the most important issues to young people and thus will likely boost levels of successful engagement; • Targeting work experience placements to areas identified with relatively lower life outcomes;

• NGN should consider a Returners Programme to help those who have spent significant time out of the workplace, back into work.

• Forming strategic partnerships to address the specific gaps in local areas and scaling out best practice.

Youth & Employability Engagement Framework NGN will take clear steps towards boosting outcomes in the least privileged areas during school years. This will include: • An Opportunity Guarantee: targeting apprenticeships opportunities towards the areas with the most deprivation and least privilege; • For those who don’t achieve an apprenticeship placement, NGN should work towards ensuring everyone has the opportunity to

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