Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress the Social Mobility Commission has made on levelling up life chances across the country; and what steps she is taking to implement the recommendations made by that Commission.

The Social Mobility Commission (SMC) is an advisory body required by statute to do three things: 1) monitor progress on social mobility outcomes across the UK in an annual report 2) undertake research to inform recommendations for how government might improve social mobility in England and 3) share knowledge about how social mobility can be improved more widely.

The SMC has taken recent steps to improve how it delivers against these statutory objectives, including:

• Producing a body of research work to help national and local leaders understand and address regional disparities in a more effective way through reports including, 'The long shadow of deprivation' (2020), and 'Moving out to move on' (2020).
• Translating the insights from its reports into comprehensible actions that young people can take to improve their own outcomes.
• Establishing an employers’ programme which has been successful in driving change in how employers both recruit and promote people from working class backgrounds.

The Commission’s work is an important part of the data-driven approach within the Equality Hub in the Cabinet Office. The Hub will consider its research and recommendations, with a view to using its evidence to inform the wide-ranging programme of work across Government to level up the country.