Social Mobility

Debate between Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton and Baroness Kennedy of Shaws

Monday 20th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton (Lab)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Farrington of Ribbleton]

My Lords—

[Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws]

My Lords, perhaps I may raise the issue of the new universities and the large numbers of young people from working-class backgrounds who choose to do law and invest in their futures by going on to qualify as solicitors but do not get training contracts. There is an absolute dearth of these contracts for students from modern universities—the former polytechnics and all these new universities that the Government are so keen to create. Ordinary working-class families encourage their children to go into areas where they assume there will be jobs, but there are no training contracts because they all go to the privileged.