There is no “clear cut north-south divide” when it comes to social mobility in the UK, a study has claimed.

The report -  described as a first-time look at a detailed regional breakdown of social mobility prospects including education, occupation and pay - was published by the Social Mobility Commission.

While the report shows geographical inequalities across the country, there is no simple pattern of well-off and badly-off areas, researchers said.

What factors impact social mobility?

People raised near London, Manchester and Edinburgh have the best chance of getting a professional job – no matter what social background they come from, according to research.

On this point, Alun Francis, chair of the Social Mobility Commission (SMC), said: “The data shows why it’s just as important to look within areas as it is between them.

“And, despite popular narrative, there isn’t a clear cut north-south divide.”

People whose parents were homeowners were much more likely to own their own home, compared with those whose parents did not own their own home, the commission said.

There was also a gender split, with 64 per cent of women whose parents were homeowners now owning their own place, compared with 75 per cent of men in the same position.

Among people whose parents were not homeowners, only 35 per cent of women compared to 55 per cent of men owned their own homes.

They said Pakistani people are less likely to be in a professional job and more likely to be unemployed than white British people from the same socio-economic background.

But people of Indian and Chinese backgrounds had significantly higher chances of so-called long-range upward mobility than their white British peers, the researchers added.

The report suggested that, despite girls outperforming boys throughout their school years, women went on to become less likely to experience so-called upward occupational mobility by moving from a lower working-class background to a higher professional job.