In a speech to the Sutton Trust, Nick Clegg today will insist that social mobility is one of the ”vital ingredients” for building a healthy UK economy, as the government publishes 17 “trackers” to assess progress in improving life chances over the coming decades.

The study, to be unveiled by Clegg, shows that one child in five is on free school meals, but only one in 100 Oxbridge entrants is. It also reveals that only 7% of children attend private schools, but these schools provide 70% of High Court judges and 54% of FTSE 100 chief executives.

One in five children from poorer homes achieves five good GCSEs, compared with three out of four from affluent homes, shows the study. The Government will admit today that there is a gap between the life chances of the poorest and the better-off in the UK.

Deputy Prime Minister will say that “wasted talent” is an economic as well as a moral crime. Clegg in the conference is expected to call for “a more dynamic society. One where what matters most is the person you become, not the person you were born.”

“It may surprise the non-Brits among you to learn that in some quarters, the idea of carefully taking into account the impact of background in assessing university applications has been painted by some as a dangerous piece of revolutionary socialism,” Clegg will say.

Challenging left and right on improving life chances, Clegg will argue that social mobility cannot be tackled by reducing inequality. He will point out to Australia and Canada as examples of countries with a similar gap between the rich and the poor as the UK but much better levels of social mobility.

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