Sutton offers fewer opportunities for social mobility than most of London, a report has found.

The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission ranked each of England’s local authorities in terms of children’s education and employment opportunities and found that poorer children in London were more likely to climb the social ladder than in the country’s other major cities.

Sutton was ranked 34th in the country but fell behind 23 other London boroughs and was in the bottom quarter for social mobility in the capital.

A Sutton Council spokesman said: “We are encouraged to read that Sutton is one of the most socially mobile areas of the country, especially in how young people from poorer backgrounds are able to secure the kind of school qualifications they need to succeed and how well placed they are to make good choices about their futures when they leave school.

“We know we need to do more to improve the experiences of younger children from poorer backgrounds in the early years so we are working to increase the availability of childcare places for children from less advantaged backgrounds.

“We are also working with schools to continue the drive to raise standards at the end of the Foundation Stage.”

But Alan Milburn, chairman of Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, said the report was a “wake-up call” and urged the government to ensure children across England had a “level playing field”.