Lesson Starter

What will I learn? • Interpret evidence which shows that the

UK is a rich country and explain why wealth and income are not shared out evenly.

• Explain why the process of social classification of people is necessary.

• Describe at least two classifications that social scientists use to categories different people.

Success Criteria I can…

• Interpret evidence which shows that the UK is a rich country and explain why wealth and income are not shared out evenly.

• Explain why the process of social classification of people is necessary.

• Describe at least two classifications that social scientists use to categories different people.

Wealth inequalities in the UK

By any international comparison the UK is a wealthy country. Whether measured by GDP per capita (wealth created per head) or GNP (total wealth creation), the UK is among the top 20 richest countries in the world.

• According to a new survey by the Hurun Global Rich List, 56 sterling billionaires now live in Britain. Here are their names:

• 1. Leonard BlavatnikUkrainian-born American Blavatnik, 56, has made his £10.8 billion fortune through investments in oil, coal and property and is the owner of Parlophone Records and the Warner Music Group. He recently donated £75m to found the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford.

Richest People in the UK 2014

2. Lakshmi Mittal

Mittal, 63, is the owner of a £10.2bn fortune. He made it in the Indian steel business, and is now the owner of the world's largest steel manufacturer. His three properties in Kensington Palace Gardens are believed to be worth £500m.

3. Srichand Hinduja and familyThe Indian born magnate, 78, is the chairman of the Hinduja group, and made his wealth in textiles, Bollywood films, weapons and oil. His £300m home near Buckingham Palace is believed to be the world's third most expensive.

Richest People in the UK 2014

• 4. John FredriksenThe Norwegian-born Cypriot shipping tycoon, 69, is worth £6.9bn, and made his fortune in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. He owns the world's largest shipping fleet.

• 5. Gerald GrosvenorThe 6th Duke of Westminster, 62, is the wealthiest landowner in Britain. His £6.6bn fortune is founded on his family's ownership of 190 acres of Belgravia, one of London's most exclusive areas, and he also owns prime real estate on five continents.

Richest People in the UK 2014

• 6. Hans RausingThe 87-year-old is the co-inheritor of the Tetra Pak fortune, and his wealth is estimated at £6.6bn. He divides his time between Sweden, the Bahamas and Britain, where he breeds deer and wild boar on his sprawling estate.

• 7. Roman AbramovichThe Chelsea FC owner, 47, started out selling plastic ducks on the streets of Moscow, and is now worth £4.8bn. He made his fortune in the oil industry in the 1990s, after the Soviet Union's assets were stripped by private speculators. The oligarch now has interests in steel and mining.

Richest People in the UK 2014

• 8. Bruno SchroderWith wealth estimated at £3.5bn, the 80-year-old is the fourth generation in his family to run the asset management firm Schroders.

• 9. Charles CadoganThe 8th Earl of Cadogan, 76, heads a property empire with addresses in some of London's most affluent postcodes. His own home is worth £20m.

Richest People in the UK 2014

10. Sir Richard Branson

The British-born businessman and entrepreneur, 63, has a fortune estimated at £3.5bn. He set up his first business, a mail order record company in 1970, and his Virgin Group now comprises more than 400 companies. Branson lives on Caribbean idyll Necker Island, in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven.

Richest People in the UK 2014

• Although the UK is a wealthy country, this does not mean that everyone in the UK is equally wealthy.

• Watch this clip and note down some of the facts it provides regarding distribution of wealth in the UK.

• If you want to research this inequality further, here is a web address:

• http://inequalitybriefing.org/

Is everyone rich in the UK?

• Although the UK is a wealthy country, this does not mean that everyone in the UK is equally wealthy.

• The gender pay gap has widened for the first time in five years, reversing a period of ''steady progress'' on closing the wage difference between men and women.

• The difference based on median hourly earnings for full-time workers increased from 9.5% last year to 10%, but for all employees, including part-timers, the figure rose from 19.6% to 19.7%, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Income and Wealth in the UK

• In Britain today women still earn 15% less per hour than men, a pay gap that costs full-time women over £5,000 a year.

• The figures showed that median annual earnings for full-time employees were £27,000 in the year to April, an increase of 2.1% from the previous year.

• A tenth of full-time workers earned less than £7.28 an hour, while 10% earned more than £27 an hour, both figures increasing by 1.5% over the year.

Income and Wealth in the UK

• Weekly pay was highest in London at £658, and lowest in Northern Ireland at £460.

• Full-time pay for men increased by 1.8% to £556 a week and went up by 2.2% for women to £459.

• Median weekly pay for all workers, full and part-time, was £417, an increase of 2.6%.

Income and Wealth in the UK

• Social classification is necessary in order to measure trends and progress throughout society. Researchers use the data collected, although imprecise or disputed, to analyse changes in income, employment, wealth, poverty and health between different groups of people.

• This information can then be used by any interested party to initiate a debate which may then result in policies being put forward to resolve problems. Without classification or analysis of information, it would be very difficult if not impossible to improve society.

Social Class – why classify people?

• Register General Classification (pre-2001 classification)

• Class A or I Professional, Solicitor, HT• Class B or II Technical or middle lower

managerial, Superstore manager

• Class C1 or III Skilled Manual, Tradesman• Class C2 or III Skilled Non-manual

Computer operator• Class D or IV Semi-skilled, Technician• Class E or V Unskilled, Labourer,

Driver

Social Class Models

National Statistics Socio-economic Classification

(Used since 2001 although there are other classifications)•1. Higher Managerial and Professional Occupations:

Large employers / higher managerial e.g. company directors

• - Higher professional occupations e.g. doctors, lawyers

2.Lower Managerial and Professional Occupations: nurses, journalists3.Intermediate Occupations: clerks, secretaries4.Small Employers and Own Account Workers: publicans,

farmers

Social Class Models

National Statistics Socio-economic Classification

(Used since 2001 although there are other classifications)

5.Lower Supervisory and Technical Occupations: printers, plumbers

6.Semi-routine Occupations: shop assistants, hairdressers

7.Routine Occupations: couriers, labourer

8. Never Worked / Long-term Unemployed

Social Class Models

• Traditional British social divisions of upper, middle and working class seem out of date in the 21st Century, no longer reflecting modern occupations or lifestyles.

• As you will have seen, it seems strange that some occupations qualify you for a higher social class than others considering the money you can earn for doing certain jobs.

• Therefore basing social class classifications on occupation alone seems too simplistic.

Social Class Models

• The BBC teamed up with sociologists from leading universities to analyse the modern British class system. They surveyed more than 161,000 people and came up with a new model made up of seven groups.

Social Class Models

• Britain's new social classes – 7 groups1.Elite: Most privileged group, set apart from other

classes because of wealth. Highest scoring economically, socially and culturally.

2.Established middle class: Largest class group and second wealthiest. Also score high culturally and socially.

3.Technical middle class: Small distinct group that aren't so social but have money and are into emerging culture such as gaming, the internet and rock music.

4.New affluent workers: A young group, socially and culturally active with middling levels of income.

5.Traditional working class: Score low economically, socially and culturally but have reasonably high house values and oldest average age.

Social Class Models

• 6. Emergent service workers: New young urban group who don't have much money but are very social and cultural. They "live for today“.

• 7. Precariat: Poorest, most deprived class who score low economically, socially and culturally.

Social Class Models

• So where might your family members sit within the class calculator categories?

• Here is the link. Why not get your parent/ guardian to try it?

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22000973

Why not try it?

• 1. What evidence is there that the UK is a rich country and that wealth is not evenly distributed?

• 2. Why is social class classification necessary?

• 3. Summarise the main social class classification models that you have learned about.

• 4. Why, in your opinion, is social class hard to define?

REVISION QUESTIONS

• If you want to know more about this section, go online and access the article on Income Inequality on Modernity Scotland.

• http://www.modernityscotland.co.uk/cfe-social-inequality/519-article-2

Want to know more?

I can…

• Interpret evidence which shows that the UK is a rich country and explain why wealth and income are not shared out evenly.

• Explain why the process of social classification of people is necessary.

• Describe at least two classifications that social scientists use to categories different people.