Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to (a) increase educational attainment and (b) improve career opportunities in all regions of the UK.

​​​​All children and young people should have the opportunity to succeed. That is why, through our work to deliver the Opportunity Mission, this government will work in partnership with those inside and outside of government to break the unfair link between background and success.

High and rising standards across education are at the heart of this mission. As one of the department’s first steps for change, we are committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 expert teachers. We have also introduced new regional improvement for standards and excellence teams and launched an independent, expert-led Curriculum and Assessment Review that is looking at the key challenges to attainment.

The government is also developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce, and drive economic growth through our Industrial Strategy across all areas of the country.

We have established Skills England to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade. It will ensure that the skills system is clear and navigable for both young people and adults, strengthening careers pathways into jobs across the economy.