Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Nash on 20 February (HL Deb, col 3), what assessment they have made of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation analysis, <i>Brexit vote explained: poverty, low skills and lack of opportunities, </i>regarding the correlation between low educational attainment and voting leave in the EU referendum; and what action, if any, they plan to take to address educational inequalities across the UK.

We want to create a country where everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talents will take them, and education is at the heart of this. We recognise that too often, background or where you live limits access to opportunities, which lead to success in later life.

The Joseph Roundtree Foundation’s report, “Brexit vote explained”, examines the importance of poverty, educational opportunity and life experiences. We are committed to investing in more good school places, reforming technical education to deliver the skills employers need, and tackling educational inequality and increasing opportunity.

Thanks to our reforms, there are nearly 1.8 million more children in schools rated good or outstanding than in 2010, while the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers is narrowing. We know, however, that there is more to do.

We will continue to provide the pupil premium, worth around £2.5 billion this year, and invest £137 million through the Education Endowment Foundation to expand the evidence base on what works in education for disadvantaged pupils.

The report’s analysis places particular emphasis on ‘place’ in examining inequality of opportunity. As a Department, we too recognise that geography plays a significant role in equality of opportunity.

As part of our reforms, we have set out plans to create more good school places, in more parts of the country, by ending the ban on new grammar schools, where we know bright children from disadvantaged backgrounds thrive, and harnessing the resources and expertise of our universities, independent and faith schools.

To target regional disadvantage, we are introducing a fairer funding system to rectify the historic and unfair postcode lottery in how school funding is distributed in England.

Opportunity Areas are at the vanguard of our efforts to tackle geographic disadvantage and increase social mobility. We will be investing £72 million of new funding into our ‘Opportunity Areas’ strategy, promoting social mobility in areas facing challenges, along with a new £3.5m programme for the Education Endowment Foundation to establish a Research School for each Opportunity Area. We are also investing £70m to support the Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy.

As we prepare to leave the European Union, we understand the importance of levelling up opportunity, so that everyone is included in Britain’s future, regardless of where they start in life.