On 27 April 2023, the APPG held a meeting in the Thatcher Room at Portcullis House on the work and priorities of the Social Mobility Commission.
The session explored the SMC’s thematic priorities of nurturing talent; developing and distributing talent; and growing opportunities, and offered a preview of the organisation’s upcoming State of the Nation report for 2023.
We were pleased to host Alun Francis OBE, Interim Chair, Social Mobility Commission.
Read the minutes of the meeting or view the Social Mobility Commission’s slides.
On 19 July 2023, the APPG held a meeting in the Jubilee Room at the Palace of Westminster on parental engagement as a tool for social mobility.
The session focussed on the impact of parental engagement on children’s outcomes at all stages of education, as well as the potential barriers to increasing parental engagement and recommendations to overcome these.
The APPG were pleased to host:
Read the minutes of the meeting or view slides from the presentations.
On 26 October 2022, the APPG held a meeting at 1 Parliament Street on the current state of play in social mobility.
The session focussed on setting the scene on the current state of social mobility in the UK, outlining current issues and identifying possible solutions.
The APPG were pleased to host:
Read the minutes of the session.
On 26 October 2021, the APPG held a virtual meeting on socioeconomic diversity in the Civil Service.
The session focussed on the Social Mobility Commission’s report, Navigating the Labyrinth, and on access to and progression within the Civil Service for people from lower-income backgrounds.
The APPG were pleased to host:
Read the minutes of the session or view the Social Mobility Commission’s slides.
On 19 April 2021, the APPG held a virtual meeting on education recovery.
The session focussed on education recovery and the interventions that need to be put in place to help disadvantaged children and young people over the coming years, covering early years, schools, further education and transitions to higher education.
The APPG were pleased to host:
Each panellist spoke about the challenges that are facing their sectors as a result of the pandemic, and the actions that they would like to see taken to address these. This was followed by a Q&A session which covered issues ranging from the role of community in education recovery, mental health support in schools and how to effectively measure the success of government funding.
Read the minutes of the session.
On 8 December 2020, the APPG held a virtual meeting on the digital divide.
The session examined how unequal access to technology has impacted disadvantaged young people throughout the pandemic, and explored possible solutions from businesses, government and charities.
The APPG were pleased to host:
Each panellist spoke about the work they have been doing in their roles to tackle the digital divide. This was followed by a Q&A session which covered issues ranging from the skills that pupils need for remote learning, to what more businesses and government could do to get devices to young people.
On 16 July 2020, the APPG held a virtual meeting on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic titled What next for social mobility? The impact of coronavirus and beyond.
The session focused on the impact of the Covid-19 on education and social mobility, looking at the early years, schools, further education and university access.
The APPG were pleased to host:
Each panellist spoke about the impact coronavirus has had on disadvantaged children and young people in their education stage of focus. This was followed by a Q&A session which covered issues ranging from international students, the role of Ofsted and collaboration across the education sector.
Catch up on the minutes of the session or read our blog.
The APPG on Social Mobility hosted Dame Martina Milburn, the Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, to discuss the findings from its State of the Nation 2019 report.
Ali Jaffer and Lindsay Turner Trammell, Heads of Policy and Innovation at the Social Mobility Commission did a short presentation recapping their recent State of the Nation report. This was followed by a question and answer session that touched on some common threads including cross party and cross departmental co-operation, local, regional and national perspectives, as well as early years and parenting.
Catch up on the session through our blog, or read the minutes from the session.
This inquiry looked at the gap in attainment between pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and their classmates and why this gap is more pronounced in different parts of the country.
The inquiry ran from November 2017 – June 2018, encompassing three evidence sessions held in Parliament and a call for written submissions. Closing the Regional Attainment Gap summarises the evidence submitted to the report in both written and oral form, and makes a series of practical policy recommendations to tackle the issues highlighted.
The third session built on the evidence gathered from previous sessions, hearing from Justine Greening MP, James Turner Deputy Chief Exec at the EEF, Prof Rebecca Alan, and Prof Kathy Sylva. Catch up on the session with our blog.
Following the publication of our report Leading People 2016, the Sutton Trust worked with the APPG on Social Mobility to lead a parliamentary inquiry into access into leading professions. The inquiry explored what is being done to increase access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds into leading professions such as law, finance, medicine, journalism and politics, and what more could be done.
Class Ceiling summarises the evidence submitted to the report in both written and oral form, and makes a series of practical policy recommendations to tackle the issues highlighted.
This session explored the perception that law, finance and professional services are dominated by people from particular socio-economic backgrounds. The session asked whether this is the case, how we can address the issue if so, and what is being done by charities and the professions to widen access. Panelists included representatives from the charity sector, as well as senior representatives from the professions themselves.
This session investigated why the medical profession is recruiting such a disproportionate number of people educated in the independent sector. The issue of access into medicine emerged as one of particular interest following the publication of the Sutton Trust’s report Leading People 2016. This session included representatives from across the medical profession from organisations such as the Medical Schools Council, the Royal College of Nursing and a junior doctor.
This session of the inquiry explored how politics and the civil service could be more representative of society so that people do not feel alienated from them, as recent developments suggest they could be. Panelists included Dan Jarvis MP (Parliamentary Champion of the Speaker’s Parliamentary Placement Scheme), beneficiaries of the scheme, and Cabinet Office Minister Ben Gummer MP.
This session of the inquiry explored challenges for accessing the entertainment and media professions, with some discussion regarding unpaid internships, and an agreement that there was a need for a more diverse group of people producing the news that we consume. This session saw senior representatives from the media and arts sector including actor Michael Sheen, as well as the National Council for the Training of Journalists, Sky News and ITV.
To find out more about the work of the APPG on Social Mobility, please get in touch with Ryan.
E: [email protected]