Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will require local authorities to produce a strategy for improving disadvantaged children’s outcomes.

The government recognises that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds can face additional challenges to achieving their potential. This is why we introduced the pupil premium in 2011 and invested over £11 billion, which includes almost £2.5 billion this year alone, in schools so that they can provide extra support to disadvantaged pupils of all abilities.

The attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has decreased both at age 11 and age 16 since 2011. Schools have discretion over how they use pupil premium funding, according to the identified needs of their pupils.

While we have no plans to require local councils to produce strategies for improving disadvantaged children’s outcomes, they are free to do so if they wish.