Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to pages 77-78 of the Social Mobility Commission's report, Time for Change: an assessment of government policies on social mobility 1997-2017, published on 28 June 2017, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of (a) internships, (b) unpaid internships and (c) unadvertised internships on the accessibility of some jobs to people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We know that government alone cannot transform social mobility. Employers play an important role by ensuring fair access to the workplace. The best employers are already taking some important steps, including engaging and supporting young people in schools, introducing fairer recruitment practices, removing barriers, opening up alternative routes to entry, and monitoring progress – but there is more to be done to ensure that background is not a barrier to a good career. That is why we support the Social Mobility Employer Index, which celebrates those employers leading the way in opening up access and progression.

The government recognises concerns about exploitation of interns and we are clear that this is unacceptable. We will act where we find that employment law has been broken and someone who is entitled to the minimum wage has not been paid it.