What can be done about low rates of social mobility in the prosperous east of Worcestershire?

And would £16 million of EU funds help?

A summit meeting will be held to work out how to improve the prospects of the under-privileged and poor in Wychavon.

The rural district in the south of Worcester featured prominently in two major surveys recently – it was in the top 10 council districts to live in according to the Halifax Bank.

But it also come towards the bottom, 310th out of 324 council areas for social mobility in an annual report by the government’s Social Mobility Commission.

Councillors at the district council resolved to hold the summit to address the matter after Lib Dem councillor Charles Tucker (Pershore) introduced a motion.

He said: “Wychavon’s a great place to live - provided you have the resources to enjoy it. If you don’t, your chance of ever getting those resources is slim.

“We’re not only the worst in Worcestershire, below Wyre Forest and Redditch, we’re the worst in the whole of the West Midlands, worse than places normally considered as having high deprivation, like Stoke, Dudley and Birmingham.

“It’s not only about people, it’s about the sort of jobs available in Wychavon. Our own signals of success show a 14% difference in wages between those who work outside the district and those who work in it. Worryingly, this gap has grown wider in the last quarter. And of course, it is the Haves who can afford to travel to those better paid jobs, while the Have Nots can’t.”

The motion introduced by Councillor Tucker said: “he council has failed to

tackle the growing inequality between those who have benefitted from rising prosperity in the District and those who have not. Poor social mobility is rooted in low incomes, low aspirations and low expectations.”

And it added the authority should try and get hold of up to £16m of European Social Fund monies available to Worcestershire which may well have to be returned in 2019 if it is not used.

Leader of the council, Linda Robinson responded by proposing an amendment to include a resolved to continue a ‘significant’ investment in Droitwich West and to hold a summit into social mobility in March.

She criticised Cllr Tucker for including an item about the motion in his ward newsletter before bringing the matter to council- saying he was ‘scoring cheap political points.’