UCU response to Alan Milburn's social mobility report

The union said the debate Mr Milburn is initiating and the role his commission is undertaking are vitally important. UCU said breaking down the inequalities in society was about much more than simply taking from one group to pay another and required a fundamental rethink of how to help people better themselves.

The union said Mr Milburn was right to highlight the fact that low pay was holding many people down and that more must be done to help young people, who were feeling the effects of low pay the most, and at risk of being written off as a forgotten generation.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'Alan Milburn is right to highlight the effects low pay has on people - especially when their bills continue to rise. We really hope this urgent debate on how to help some of the most vulnerable people in society moves beyond politicians bickering about whether or not they will rob Peter to pay Paul.

'It is vital that we do not forget about a generation that is already struggling. Young people have seen their pay fall, the jobs market remain incredibly difficult, tuition fees rocket and support to stay on at college disappear. As we seek answers to the problems of inequality, we cannot afford to consign those who have already suffered to the scrapheap of inactivity.'

UCU analysis of pay revealed that 16 and 17-year-olds have been hit hardest by falling wages, as well as suffering from rocketing university fees and the axing of the education maintenance allowance, that supported the poorest pupils if they wanted to stay on at college.