Social Mobility Policy Committee

LordsSelectest. 30 Jan 2025Email ↗● Actively Monitored
Sessions analysed12
Commitments11
Positions27
Recommendations62

Latest Signals

13 Mar 2025Zero-sum focus hides who loses outSocial Mobility CommissionConcern
[Speaker: Alun Francis] One of our concerns is that overly focusing on relative social mobility, without looking at what we have called ‘the supply of opportunities’, ends up being a zero-sum game. Somebody gains, but somebody loses. You are committing quite significant amounts of resource sometimes to helping some people do better, but we are actually quite silent on who loses out of that process. We do not talk about it.
13 Mar 2025Young people do not know the 14-plus pathways wellSocial Mobility CommissionConcern
13 Mar 202516-18 NEETs lack a clear ownerSocial Mobility CommissionConcern
13 Mar 2025Mental health, inactivity and benefit incentives drive NEET growthSocial Mobility CommissionConcern
13 Mar 2025Early years and childcare can trap mothersSocial Mobility CommissionConcern
13 Mar 2025Education should prepare for life and work, not one routeSocial Mobility CommissionPosition
13 Mar 2025Commission wants focus shifted to absolute mobilitySocial Mobility CommissionPosition
13 Mar 2025Place-based disparities shape opportunitySocial Mobility CommissionConcern

Recent Sessions

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17 Jul 2025Social mobility: DfE and DWP pathways
5 commit3 pos2 concern1 leg
26 Jun 2025Social mobility data: linking admin records
4 pos2 concern3 rec1 disag1 leg
19 Jun 2025Social mobility in rural areas: housing, transport, data
3 pos7 concern8 rec1 disag1 leg
05 Jun 2025Social mobility: schools, FE and NEET pathways
1 commit2 pos5 concern4 rec
22 May 2025Social mobility: unions on education, FE and poverty
2 commit1 pos7 concern6 rec

Recent Commitments

View all (11)

Recent Recommendations

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Frequent Witnesses

Department for Work and Pensions2× · 8 insights
Newcastle University2× · 5 insights
Social Mobility Commission1× · 14 insights
The Purpose Coalition1× · 11 insights
the Co-op1× · 11 insights
Trades Union Congress1× · 9 insights

About this committee

This Lords select committee examines government policy and strategy on social mobility across the UK. It conducts inquiries through oral evidence sessions and written submissions, drawing on expertise from both inside and outside Parliament. The committee's recent work has focused on the Department for Education and Department for Work and Pensions' Opportunity Mission initiative, scrutinising how the government intends to improve social mobility outcomes through this cross-departmental programme. It has also examined the availability and use of linked datasets to measure social mobility, bringing together experts to assess whether current data infrastructure can effectively track progress and identify where interventions are most needed. These inquiries reflect the committee's ongoing effort to hold departments accountable for their social mobility commitments and to understand the evidence base underpinning policy decisions.