Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been madeon targeting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to further their education in the last 10 years .

Educational achievement is at the heart of our commitment to making this a country where everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talent and hard work will take them. Thanks to our reforms, there are 1.8 million more children in schools rated good or outstanding than in 2010. We recognise that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds - defined as those currently or formerly in receipt of free school meals and currently or formerly looked after - may face extra barriers to achieving their potential. This is why we introduced the pupil premium in 2011 and have invested over £11bn - almost £2.5bn this year alone – so that schools can provide extra support to disadvantaged pupils of all abilities.

We created the early years pupil premium in 2015 so disadvantaged children are better prepared for school and, beyond school, the independent Director of Fair Access has agreed access agreements for 2018/19 which will see universities plan to spend more than £860 million - significantly more than the £404 million in 2009 - on measures to continue to improve access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has decreased at both age 11 and age 16 since 2011. This means better prospects for disadvantaged pupils and a more prosperous life as an adult.

But we know there is more to do. Our £72 million opportunity areas programme will create opportunities for young people in social mobility ‘cold spots’ and share effective practice across the country to ensure all young people can access the opportunities they deserve.

In addition, the Education Endowment Foundation, which we established with a £137 million grant in 2011, is working in hundreds of schools to expand the evidence of what works best to accelerate progress.