Social Mobility Commission Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Education
Luciana Berger
Main Page: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)Department Debates - View all Luciana Berger's debates with the Department for Education
(6 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Goodwill
Yes, absolutely. I must make it clear that Alan Milburn was told that there would be an open process—in other words, that we were opening up the selection—and he said in his letter that he would not be applying. That is to put on record exactly what happened in that case. I hope that we will get a wide range of applicants, so that we can choose some of the very best and most able to help us in moulding our future policies to improve social mobility.
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)
Why have the Government not adopted any of the Social Mobility Commission’s recommendations since 2016? How does the Minister expect to attract new commissioners when he ignores the very important work that they do?
Mr Goodwill
We have certainly not ignored the commissioners’ work, and the social mobility index has been a useful tool to help the Government to prioritise how they address the problem. The opportunity areas, some of which were announced in September and more of which will be announced in the new year, are precisely targeted at the areas identified by the Social Mobility Commission in its “cold spot” programme.