Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Social Mobility Commission's report: Time for Change: an assessment of government policies on social mobility 1997-2017, if she will launch a review into the possibility of creating a national coalition with councils, communities and employers to improve social mobility.

The Department for Education welcomes the Commission’s report, published on 28 June, which considers efforts to improve social mobility over the last twenty years. The Commission rightly concludes that too often life chances can be determined not by effort and talents but where you come from, who your parents are and what school you attend. The Department will set out further details on policy to tackle this social injustice in due course.

Improving social mobility requires support from all parts of society: government, employers and civic organisations. Last year, we launched our £72 million Opportunity Area programme. In these 12 social mobility ‘coldspots’ we are working with a range of local partners to break the link between background and destination. We know these areas face some of the most entrenched challenges, as described by the Social Mobility Commission’s Index last year. Our approach here goes beyond what the Department and central government can do – extending to local authorities, schools, academy sponsors, local and national businesses, Local Enterprise Partnerships, FE colleges, universities, the voluntary sector, and more.

The Secretary of State recently spoke at the launch of the Social Mobility Employers Index. The Index highlights how employers, including government, are taking steps to ensure talented people from all works of life can access good jobs. Through this collaborative process, we will not just build opportunity now but lay the foundations for further progress in the future. I strongly encourage employers to sign up to the Index next year.