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Business of the House

Can the Leader of the House find time for a debate on social mobility—a subject that is permanently topical and of growing interest to all parties. Given the Opposition parties' hostility to the Government's admirable policy, announced this week, of shifting the Higher Education Funding Council budget to give an advantage to those who have never been to university, given the Opposition's policy of hostility to extending the participation age to 18 and given the continuing hostility to the Government's policies of fair admissions in schools and universities, would not a debate on social mobility enable us to identify not only the factors holding it back, but the most effective policies for improving it?