Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department plans to take in response to the recommendations of the Social Mobility Commission's report entitled State of the Nation 2018-19: Social Mobility in Great Britain, published on 30 April 2019.

The department welcomes the publication of the Social Mobility Commission’s annual report and the important work that Dame Martina Milburn and her new team of commissioners are doing to promote social mobility across the UK. The Commission’s report shines a light on where government, businesses and employers can continue raising the bar for everyone living in this country and the department will be taking the recommendations seriously.

Social mobility is a top priority across government, and we have taken great strides to improve it. We are targeting extra support at the areas of greatest challenge and least opportunity to raise standards in schools and attract great teachers. We have also seen disadvantaged 18-year olds entering full-time university courses at record rates. We are supporting pupils to thrive at every stage by setting a 10-year ambition to boost children’s early reading and communication skills, transforming technical education and providing coaching for young jobseekers to put them on track to succeed. We have committed £72 million to improve outcomes for children and young people in our 12 Opportunity Areas: social mobility “cold spots” that face some of the greatest challenges and fewest opportunities. The early evaluation of the programme highlights the benefits of our work in the Opportunity Areas, and we are committed to sharing this good practice with other areas.