‘Elite’ still dominates Scotland’s leading professions, says government report

A new report which has been described as a “wake-up call” has confirmed that Scotland’s leading professions continue to be dominated by disproportionate core of people from privileged backgrounds.

The report compiled by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, along with the David Hume Institute, found that the law, politics, media, business, the public sector and academia in Scotland were all over-represented by people who attended a private school and studied at a top university.

The study, entitled Elitist Scotland, concluded the most senior jobs were “significantly unrepresentative of the Scottish population,” though to a lesser extent than at the higher echelons of British society.

The authors, an independent commission set up by UK Government, published a similar study looking at the UK establishment, Elitist Britain, last year.

The new research found almost one-quarter (23 per cent) of those in leading professions were privately educated compared to just over five per cent of the Scottish population as a whole.

They included 45 per cent of senior judges, 32 per cent of top media professionals and 28 per cent of Scottish business leaders.

Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of those in top jobs attended an elite UK university.

Among them, 66 per cent of senior judges, 50 per cent of top media professionals and 46 per cent of Scottish MPs went to one of Scotland’s universities.

Alan Milburn, the former Labour cabinet minister who chairs the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, said: “Low social mobility is not just an English disease.

“It is a Scottish one and it is a UK-wide one.

“Our Elitist Scotland report should remove any shred of complacency there might be on this issue.”

Douglas Hamilton, Scotland’s commissioner on the Commission, said: “Improving social mobility needs to be an element of creating a fairer Scotland.

“Moves to address inequalities and widen access to university are a step in the right direction, but there is a long way to go.”

Mr Milburn added: “This report is both a wake-up call and a call to arms, to focus as much on helping people move up in society.

“A bigger effort will be needed if progress is to be made on reducing poverty and improving mobility.”