Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to help increase the number of civil servants who come from low income backgrounds.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
We are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds to create a modern Civil Service that delivers high quality public services.
There are a range of policies to support those from low socio-economic backgrounds wishing to join the Civil Service, this includes internships and apprenticeships which support people to gain valuable paid work experience in the Civil Service, as well as extensive outreach events to raise awareness of the Civil Service as an inclusive employer.
The Civil Service also provides entry routes through the Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) recruitment schemes across government. GFiE uses innovative approaches, working in partnership including with local government and the voluntary sector, to recruit people from a wide range of backgrounds into the Civil Service who may not otherwise have considered a Civil Service job, including people from low socio-economic backgrounds.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure equal access to digital skills training and technology.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is taking action in both these areas. The Digital Inclusion Action Plan sets out how we have, for example, launched a device donation pilot scheme in partnership with The Digital Poverty Alliance to refurbish end-of-life government laptops from three departments and get them to those that need them most.
The government is also supporting digital upskilling, for example through Essential Digital Skills (EDS) provisions funded by the Department for Education’s Adult Skills Fund. We will also be enhancing support for the EDS framework, which supports businesses and individuals to get the digital skills they need.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to support people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds in accessing employment opportunities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Get Britain Working White Paper focuses on building a thriving labour market, reducing economic inactivity and increasing the number of people in work, which is central to growing the economy. We will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity, create an inclusive labour market in which everybody can participate and progress in work, and meet the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.
We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access good, meaningful work, and support them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. The new service will be available for anyone who wants to look for work, to increase their earnings or to change their career or retrain. It will be responsive to local employers, inclusive for all customers and will work closely in partnership with local services to tackle the challenges associated with local labour markets.
Additionally, our Youth Guarantee will ensure that all young people aged 18-21 in England can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship, or employment support, helping to bridge the gap for those who might otherwise struggle to find employment due to their socio-economic status.
We are committed to breaking down barriers and fostering greater social mobility across the UK, our plans as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper Get Britain Working White Paper - GOV.UK set us on a path to achieving this.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to (a) reduce income inequality and (b) improve social mobility for people from lower-income backgrounds.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Distributional analysis shows that the expected impacts of government decisions from Autumn Budget 2024 onwards are progressive and benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average, as a percentage of income in 2028-29.
The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible. The increases in tax are concentrated on the highest income households. Overall, on average, all but the richest 10% of households will benefit from policy decisions in 2028-29.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve access to opportunity in disadvantaged areas to promote social mobility for students from low-income backgrounds.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
For too many children and young people in Britain, their background, where they come from or their parents' income limits the life they are able to build. The government’s Opportunity Mission aims to break this link between a child’s background and their future success.
To achieve the department’s overall mission objective of closing the opportunity gap, we have set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn.
As the Plan for Change set out, the department will measure our progress through 75% of 5-year-olds reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment. We are already making good progress to deliver this first milestone, we have announced the largest ever uplift to the Early Years Pupil Premium, confirmed the first wave of 300 school-based nurseries and are on track to deliver the final increase in childcare entitlement from September. This first milestone is only the beginning of our ambition for children and young people.
The department’s first step for the Opportunity Mission is recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament. The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for children, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The department has already made good early progress towards this key pledge, including providing a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools, announcing a £233 million initial teacher training financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle, and confirming targeted retention incentives for shortage subjects worth up to £6,000 after tax.
More widely the department has already shown commitment to supporting the most disadvantaged by confirming over £3 billion will be provided to state-funded schools in England through the pupil premium in the 2025/26 financial year, an increase of almost 5% from 2024/25, to help disadvantaged pupils achieve and thrive in education and remove the barriers to learning that hold too many children back.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve social mobility.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
We are committed to delivering better life chances for all - breaking the link between background and success.
Through the Opportunity Mission, this Government is working to ensure all children and young people can access opportunities and that every child thrives in education and achieves their ambitions in work and later life, no matter their background.
Work is underway to deliver our manifesto commitment to commence the socio-economic duty in England. The duty will require specified public bodies to actively consider how their strategic decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support social mobility for people from (a) underrepresented and (b) disadvantaged groups in the green energy sector.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs is working closely with industry and trade unions to improve accessibility of jobs in the clean energy sector, and coordinate across social inclusion initiatives. In January it published a ‘Clean Energy Jobs Employer Handbook’ which summarises support available, including for employees from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. The Department will set out its wider approach to clean energy workforce strategy later this year, to support delivery of the workforce for the Clean Energy Superpower Mission.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase access to careers education in (a) schools and (b) further education.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
High-quality careers provision is an essential part of the government’s missions to break down barriers to opportunity and to drive economic growth. The department is creating more opportunities for young people to develop skills and improve work readiness through our commitments to improve careers advice in schools and colleges and to guarantee two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person.
The department will publish updated careers statutory guidance this spring that sets out our expectations of what schools, colleges and independent training providers should do to raise the quality of careers provision and work experience for young people. The Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance, a standard for world-class careers guidance for young people, are a cornerstone of our approach. Building on the widespread adoption and impact of the benchmarks in recent years, the framework has been updated following extensive research and consultation, for implementation from September 2025.
Inclusion and impact for each and every young person is a prominent theme that emerged from evidence to the benchmark review. Updates to the benchmarks emphasise the importance of tailoring programmes to the needs of each young person. Particular attention is given to any additional or different support that may be needed by vulnerable or disadvantaged young people and those with special educational needs and disabilities.
The department is continuing to fund The Careers and Enterprise Company to support schools and colleges to deliver careers programmes in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks and to plan towards the delivery of two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person. 95% of secondary schools and colleges are part of a local Careers Hub, connecting careers provision to the needs of local economies through strategic partnerships with mayoral combined authorities, local authorities and employers. A network of 400 leading employers and over 3,700 business volunteers inspire young people about a range of exciting career opportunities, including in priority growth sectors.
The National Careers Service helps young people, aged 13 to 18, to discover their careers options. The website includes around 800 job profiles and young people can access information and advice via webchat and a telephone helpline which is supported by local community-based career advisers. The website can be found here: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/.
In addition, the Skills for Life campaign, ‘It all starts with skills’, promotes a range of priority skills programmes to young people, including apprenticeships, T Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve access to (a) higher education opportunities and (b) apprenticeships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Too many people across our country do not get the chance to succeed. This government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university or pursue an apprenticeship, regardless of their background, where they live and their personal circumstances.
All English higher education (HE) providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that intend to charge higher level tuition fees are required to have an Access and Participation Plan approved by the OfS. These plans articulate how providers will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups. In creating their plans, providers should consider the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register which details 12 key sector risks across the student lifecycle and the student groups most likely to experience these, including students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Whilst many HE providers have demonstrated positive examples of widening access, including targeted outreach and bursaries, we want to see the sector go further.
In the summer the department will set out our plan for HE reform and we expect providers to play an even stronger role in improving access and outcomes for all disadvantaged students.
The department also wants to ensure that more young people can undertake apprenticeships. We are introducing foundation apprenticeships for young people, a work-based offer providing high-quality progression pathways into further work-based training and employment, including occupationally specific apprenticeships. The department is continuing to provide employers and providers with additional funding to support more apprenticeship opportunities for young people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and up to age 24 for apprentices with an education, health and care plan or who have been in local authority care. These payments can be used to support costs such as work equipment, uniforms or travel.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is tacking to help tackle the socio-economic factors which contribute to ill health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Poole on 5 March 2025, to Question 33818.