Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to improve social mobility in each of the last seven years.

Our ​internal ​efforts on improving social mobility include ​the appointment of a senior social mobility champion, participation in the Social Mobility Foundation Employer Index and programmes such as the Summer Diversity Internship Programme. We are ​also ​working ​closely ​with the Cabinet Office on ​improving ​social mobility through the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy which was launched ​in October​ 2017.

DCMS has ​also ​made significant investments into programmes that help young people develop skills outside school, and participate in their communities. This includes £80 million, invested in partnership with the Big Lottery Fund, into the Youth Investment and #iwill Funds; continuing to back the growth of the National Citizen Service; and securing £90 million of dormant accounts money to support disadvantaged and disengaged young people into employment.