Read: Firms must deliver on their social contract
While we see daily reports of the challenges that many people are continuing to face as they struggle with the cost of living, a slew of headlines is fast approaching on the huge profits that many of the UK’s biggest businesses are set about to announce.
Read: Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP visits SMS offices in Doncaster to highlight social impact of the UK energy sector
The Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net-Zero made the visit to Doncaster – where low-carbon solutions company SMS employ 100 people – as part of an awareness event organised by The Purpose Coalition
Read: Together Today, a campaign for every day of the year
Much has changed for me since that day at London Pride seven years ago when I came out as gay - the first ever openly gay female Cabinet Minister. It wasn’t an easy thing to do at the time, but it was the right thing to do, and I’ve never regretted it. I hoped that I could make a difference by being truly myself so that other LGBT+ people could see someone like them at the highest levels of government.
Read: Young people call for abolition of the apprenticeship rate
New research from Co-op in partnership with VotesforSchools reveals over half (59%) of young people aged 7-16 years old believe apprentices should be paid the national living wage as cost of living drives interest in apprenticeships
The Sunday Take: By-elections give Sunak and Starmer cause for hope and optimism
Whilst many expected this week’s trio of by-elections to result in wipeout for Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party, the results gave the leaders of each of England’s three main party leaders cause for hope ahead of the next general election.
Read: Selby by-election shows the Conservative Party no longer knows what it should stand for
Where exactly is the Conservative Party going? After this week’s by-election results, the flippant answer could be “into Opposition after the next General Election”. But in reality it feels like a much more fundamental question for the governing party.
Read: Survey on employer attitudes to tracking socio-economic diversity
What gets measured gets done. So if we want opportunities to be open irrespective of background, then tracking socio-economic diversity of employees matters for all employers.
Read: Unlocking Opportunity - The Critical Link Between Local Housing and Economic Stability
Amidst the beauty of places like Devon and Cornwall, a pressing issue affects the people who form the backbone of these local economies.
Read: Retrofit skills gap threatens UK’s net-zero target
Today Reed in Partnership has launched Reed Environment to address the UK’s net-zero skills shortage. It will create a newly trained green workforce to help the UK meet its net-zero targets and spread economic opportunity across the country.
Read: ‘Solidarity with Ukraine’: House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt MP and Leonardo UK CEO, Clive Higgins highlight the vital role of UK defence sector in supporting geopolitical security
Leaders from the defence, manufacturing and procurement sector gathered in Parliament to discuss and promote how their sectors are upholding UK values in a transformed geopolitical landscape.
Read: Powerful Futures - UK Power Networks and Essex County Council collaborate to support more women into engineering
Two key Purpose Coalition members - UK Power Networks and Essex County Council - are continuing their fantastic partnership work offering support and opportunity to the people of Essex that need it the most.
Read: The latest No. 10 proposals for higher education is both misconceived and anti-levelling up.
It’s clear this proposal will disproportionately impact more disadvantaged people from more disadvantaged communities.
Read: Women’s health in the workplace
It may be uncomfortable listening for some, but it’s high time that menopause – and women’s health more widely, including menstruation, fertility problems, pregnancy, miscarriage and more – move up the workplace agenda. The time for squeamishness is long gone.
Read: Driving access to opportunity: Chair of the Purpose Coalition, Justine Greening, talks to Sean Haley, CEO of Sodexo UK & Ireland
Justine Greening interviews Sean Haley, CEO of Sodexo UK & Ireland.
Read: Changing the conversation for women in the workplace
Leading businesses and Purpose Coalition partners were joined by Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression, Mims Davies MP, at a Women in the Workplace roundtable, sponsored by Teleperformance.
Read: Report highlights universities’ contribution to social mobility but warns action is needed to maintain their value
Universities make a vital contribution to improving social mobility but a more strategic approach is needed if their work, and the transformative effect they have on communities, is to be maintained, a new report launched in Parliament today confirms.
Read: New research underlines need to ensure women in poorest areas benefit from levelling up agenda
The urgent need to level up the most disadvantaged areas of the country, particularly targeting women experiencing inequality, was highlighted by new research which shows that in 2021, a woman in the North East of England was 1.7 times more likely to die early as a result of suicide, addiction or murder by a partner or family member than the rest of England and Wales, an increase of 15 per cent since 2018.
The Sunday Take: Boosting opportunity isn’t just about education
Smashing that ‘class ceiling’ is a generational challenge, and politicians of all political parties - from John Major to Gordon Brown - have talked about it with passion over decades - but boosting opportunity can’t be limited to just education.
Read: The NHS - a celebration and an opportunity
The NHS is 75 years old this week and we should take a moment to think of all those who have worked in it in the past, and those that still work there today.
Read: Deep dive into the labour market to fix skills shortage
New research published this week has thrown the impact of the skills shortage in the UK into sharp relief.