On March 21, Rt Hon Sir David Evennett, Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford, secured a Westminster Hall debate on Social Mobility. During the debate, Sir David stressed that “every individual should have a fair chance of reaching their full potential, and we must therefore ensure that everyone has the opportunity to build a good life for themselves regardless of their background”.

During his speech, Sir David called for greater collaboration between business and education and that businesses should provide opportunities to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.  He later highlighted the excellent progress made by the Social Mobility Pledge Campaign, founded by Sir David’s former Parliamentary colleague and former Education Secretary, Rt Hon Justine Greening along with entrepreneur David Harrison, which has been signed by 700 organisations globally and covers 5 million employees.

Sir David also praised the government’s levelling up agenda, including record spending on apprenticeships, skills investment, and the Lifelong Learning Bill. The bill, which is currently proceeding through parliament, will create a Lifelong Loan Entitlement to enable people to access education and training to upskill and develop throughout their career.

During the debate, Sir David was joined by colleagues across the House who share his passion to see social mobility advanced. The debate was responded to by the Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression, Mims Davies MP, who laid out the government’s policies and aims on levelling up and social mobility.