Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Paul Howell and Ian Levy

Wednesday 13th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Paul Howell (Sedgefield) (Con)]

6. What steps the Government are taking to help ensure socioeconomic equality.

[Ian Levy (Blyth Valley) (Con)]

14. What steps the Government are taking to help ensure socioeconomic equality.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Kemi Badenoch)]

The Government are committed to boosting economic growth across the UK and ensuring opportunity is spread as widely as possible. Education is the most significant lever to create opportunity and reduce inequality, and I am pleased that Conservative reforms have seen children in schools in England excel in the 2022 PISA—programme for international student assessment—scores. England significantly outperformed the average, rising from 27th for mathematics in 2009 to 11th this year, and from 25th for reading in 2009 to 13th this year.