Cabinet Office Homepage

Main navigation

New Opportunities White Paper - Fair Chances for the Future

CAB/001/09
13 January 2009

The Prime Minister today launched plans for building fair chances for everyone to succeed in the new economy.  The New Opportunities White Paper sets out the Government’s agenda for capturing the jobs of the future and investing in families, communities and citizens throughout their lives to help them get on and ahead.

Liam Byrne lauches the New Opportunities
White Paper with the Prime Minister

Although the months ahead will be tough, the coming decade offers vast new opportunities for Britain, with up to a billion skilled jobs created worldwide in the coming years.  The Government is investing now to win those jobs for Britain – and to ensure new opportunities are open to anyone no matter their background.

Against the backdrop of record public investment planned for the next two years, the ‘New Opportunities White Paper’ details plans that cover the full range of government departments and offers focused support for people at key stages of their lives to make the most of their potential.

The Prime Minister said:

“During this global economic downturn we must continue to invest in people so they have a fair chance to achieve their potential.  The world economy is set to double and the expansion of digital and green industries will offer new opportunities.  We must be ready to seize these opportunities and ensure that these better jobs can be captured by everyone.”

Minister for the Cabinet Office Liam Byrne said:

Liam Byrne meets volunteers at the launch

“This Government is acting now to invest in families, communities and for people at every stage of life.  Britain is an aspirational country. But unlocking ambition isn’t free. It needs real investment now if our future performance is to match our future potential.”

Key measures include:

Early years - Supporting child development 

• An injection of £57m to extend free childcare for disadvantaged two year olds  - a further step towards the Government’s long term ambition to make a free early learning and childcare place available to all two year olds
• All vulnerable pregnant mums to have access to a dedicated family nurse to help through pregnancy and first 2 years

World class schools

• New £10k bonuses to get and keep the most effective teachers in the schools that need them the most, which could reach more than 500 schools and 6000 teachers a year

Transitrion to work

• Creating 35,000 new apprenticeship places so that all qualified young people will have a right to an apprenticeship by 2013
• A new guarantee for high potential young people from low income backgrounds to get the help they need to get to university
• Full time community volunteering programme for people not in education, employment or training in 33 local authorities

Getting on in work

• Establishing a  Panel that will identify and remove the barriers that prevent fair access to professional jobs
• Enable professionals to retrain and gain new skills by trebling the number of Professional and Career Development Loans from 15,000 to 45,000 in the next two years 

Supporting families

• £500 back to work training entitlement for parents and carers
• Employment support programme for young people leaving care
• £15million communities fund to tackle deprivation on the worst estates and build thriving and sustainable communities.

Notes to Editors

1. The New Opportunities White Paper is available at: www.hmg.gov.uk/newopportunities
2. For analysis of trends in social mobility see the Cabinet Office report ‘Getting on, Getting ahead’. 
3. For analysis of trends in aspirations please see the Cabinet Office report ‘Aspirations and Attainment in Deprived Communities.
4. More detail on the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions can be found at: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/accessprofessions

Tel: 020 7276 0317, 0207 276 3472, 0207 276 0400
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/
Out of hours telephone 07699 113300 and ask for pager number 721338