policy interventions needed "from cradle to grave" to counter entrenched inequalities...

the independent national equality panel, chaired by LSE's professor john hills, argues that policy interventions are needed at each life cycle stage to counter the way economic inequalities are reinforced over people's lives and often on to the next generation. the panel found that deep-seated and systematic differences remain between social groups across all of the dimensions the panel examines, although some of the widest gaps have narrowed in the last decade. professor hills said: "most people and nearly all political parties subscribe to the ideal of 'equality of opportunity'. but advantage and disadvantage reinforce themselves over the life cycle. it is hard to argue that the large and systematic differences in outcomes which we document result from personal choices made against a background of equality of opportunity, however that is defined." the report and a summary are available here//