Sir Peter Lampl was quoted in the Sunday Times welcoming opposition plans to improve social mobility.

PEOPLE from poor backgrounds will get similar protection from discrimination as those from ethnic minorities if Labour wins power.

A legal duty forcing public bodies to help reduce inequality caused by class will be resurrected as part of plans to improve social mobility.

…….

However, Gloria De Piero, the shadow equalities minister, insisted that it made good economic sense. “Britain will only succeed when it uses the talents of everyone,” she said.

De Piero, one of the few senior politicians from a working-class family, has already faced criticism over plans to make public bodies, including the BBC, monitor the backgrounds of those in the most prestigious jobs.

……..

Many firms, from international lawyers Clifford Chance to The Spectator magazine, are taking steps to recruit new staff from less-advantaged backgrounds because it is good for their business. De Piero said Labour’s plan would bring economic benefits as well.

“We believe you are there to enable people to move up, to get on, to fulfil your dreams, potential, ambition, and it does not matter where you are from — the country estate or the housing estate,” she said.

Labour’s plans were welcomed by Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust and of the Education Endowment Foundation.

“England compares poorly with other countries in its provision for the highly able,” he said.

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