Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is he taking to improve social mobility in post-16 education for people in Coventry.

We are developing a strong skills system that can drive improvements in social mobility. We are implementing key skills reforms, which although are national policies, will benefit people in all areas and from all backgrounds. We are also working with five cities to improve diversity in London, Leicester, Bristol, Great Manchester and Birmingham.

Apprenticeships are widely accessible and we are encouraging take up from under-represented groups in a range of ways, including the Apprenticeship Diversity Champion Network, which includes major employers in the West Midlands area such as Rolls Royce and Barclays.

Our reforms to technical education through T Levels will be particularly important for social mobility. They will offer young people a real choice between academic and technical study post-16 – making sure everyone has the opportunity to make the most of their talents.

The department has also introduced traineeships, which support social mobility by providing quality training for young people who need to develop their skills and experience in order to enter the labour market.

Securing good standards of literacy and numeracy helps break cycles of intergenerational economic and social disadvantage. We are focussing on this by requiring all 16 to19 year old students without a GCSE grade 9-4 (A*-C) to continue studying English and maths. In addition, all apprentices will also be required to achieve a prescribed level of English and maths to complete their apprenticeship.

The department is offering full funding for adults who need English and maths skills and support English for Speakers of Other Languages as part of our wider efforts to improve adult literacy and numeracy in England. Furthermore, we will be introducing an entitlement to full funding for basic digital skills courses from 2020, mirroring our approach to English and maths.