Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, responding to remarks by the new Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, said:

“It is obvious that austerity has had a devastating effect on people’s life chances, and the IFS has shown that Tory cuts will increase child poverty. From early years to university, every aspect of education has suffered from worsening funding shortfalls since the Conservatives came to power.

“If the Government are serious about tackling the gender pay gap, it should be the job of everyone in Government to play their part. Ministers have spent months dragging their feet in replacing the last chair, who resigned in despair, and are yet to appoint the rest of the Commission. The new chair needs to show that they are genuinely independent and ministers should listen to the conclusions of the Tory-led Education Committee, who called for a Social Mobility Commission ‘with teeth’.”