"I will comment briefly. The home learning environment is one of the toughest nuts to crack. Many children start their early education without the basic skills that they need. Much of that is due to the fact that they are not read to, that televisions may not be turned off …..." Robert Goodwill - View Speech
"If the hon. Lady looks back over the past five years, she will see that Alan has been supportive of much of the action that we are taking to improve social mobility, such as the Department for Education’s opportunity areas. We welcome constructive challenge as we all work together to …..." Robert Goodwill - View Speech
"Mr Milburn was told on 22 November that, although the post would be readvertised, he would not be expected to apply. On the resignation, as the hon. Gentleman described it, we were looking to refresh the board and bring some new blood in. I hope that that will give us …..." Robert Goodwill - View Speech
"Absolutely. There are parts of the country where tremendous progress has been made, not least in London, and they have shown the way ahead not only in education but in other areas. I am very optimistic that, as our 12 opportunity areas get into the full implementation stage, we will …..." Robert Goodwill - View Speech
"I am certainly aware of the Joseph Rowntree report on relative poverty. I point out to the hon. Gentleman that absolute poverty has fallen by over 300,000 since 2010 and pensioner poverty remains close to historical levels. That is the sort of poverty that affects people in their everyday lives. …..." Robert Goodwill - View Speech
"My hon. Friend makes a good point. There is no limit on the number of people on the board; indeed, I think it had almost 10 at one time. I hope that the publicity surrounding this question may encourage people to apply to be on the board, because we want …..." Robert Goodwill - View Speech
"The Joseph Rowntree report on relative poverty will always reflect changes—for example, in levels of pensions and levels of employment. If we see higher employment or higher levels of pensions, then an unfortunate side effect will be that relative poverty will increase. As I have said, there are now over …..." Robert Goodwill - View Speech
"There are a number of areas of experience and expertise that we will wish to see from the new board members. This is an opportunity to refresh the board. I look forward to an inspiring chair of the Social Mobility Commission to take forward the work that Alan Milburn has …..." Robert Goodwill - View Speech