Former watchdog chief says Brexit has distracted from ‘social crisis’

The UK government lacks the willingness and ability to deal with the “social crisis” facing the country, former watchdog chief Alan Milburn has claimed.

The former Social Mobility Commission chief said Brexit had distracted officials and ministers from dealing with the “crunch issue” of a divided society.

The commission’s four board members quit in December in protest at Theresa May’s government’s lack of action on the agenda.

Giving evidence to the Education Select Com- 0 Former Social Mobility Commission chief Alan Milburn mittee yesterday, Mr Milburn said there had been “disengagement” about the watchdog’s status, which had seen its membership shrink from ten commissioners to four.

“What became increasingly obvious is that where there should have been clarity, there was ambiguity,” he said.

“It got worse post-2017 election, of that there is absolutely no doubt.”

Mr Milburn stressed: “I don’t for a moment question the Prime Minister’s commitment to social justice.”

However, he raised concerns about the level of involvement from the teams at Number 10 and 11 Downing Street on the agenda.

Mr Milburn added: “It didn’t seem that the government had either the ability or the willingness to put their collective shoulders to the wheel when it came to delivering social mobility”.