‘Harder now than any point in last 50 years for poor to move up wealth ladder’

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It may be harder now than at any point in over half a century to move up if you are born in a position of disadvantage David Sturrock, Institute for Fiscal Studies But the organisation said there are stark differences for people from different backgrounds and in different areas of the country, with those growing up on free school meals – an indicator of disadvantage – earning thousands less than their peers by the time they reach their late 20s. People with parents living in London stand to inherit about twice as much on average as those with parents living in the North East or Yorkshire and the Humber, the organisation said, making it more difficult for children from relatively low-income backgrounds in lower-wealth parts of the country to move up in terms of total lifetime income. Poorer children from the North and Midlands face the combination of poorer educational outcomes, weaker local economies and relatively low levels of inheritance from their parents David Sturrock, Institute for Fiscal Studies David Sturrock, a senior research economist at the IFS and an author of the report, said: “It is bad enough that it seems harder for children from poorer families to move up in the earnings distribution than it was 40 years ago. “Poorer children from the North and Midlands face the combination of poorer educational outcomes, weaker local economies and relatively low levels of inheritance from their parents.