Social Mobility Commission
Debate between Nick Thomas-Symonds and Robert Goodwill(6 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Mr Goodwill
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. One of the best routes out of poverty—out of the trap that social mobility failures often put people in—is a good education. I am very pleased that we have more good school places than ever before, that more people from underprivileged backgrounds are going to university, and that more people than ever before are taking the other opportunities such as apprenticeships and training.
Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) (Lab)
In the years I worked in the university sector, a great deal of time was spent going out to schools to encourage pupils from all backgrounds to apply to university. What sort of message does it send when the chair of the commission resigns and says that the Government simply do not have time for social mobility?
Mr Goodwill
That is not the case. Social mobility is absolutely at the top of my priority list, as well as those of the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister. We are absolutely committed to delivering better social mobility in our country. The evidence that I have already given about progress in very many areas, including in university, is testament to that.