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Social Mobility

I will make one comment, because I worked with people who were able-bodied, and with others who were not so able-bodied. One in particular who was a huge inspiration to me was a young girl called Shelly Woods, who I hope will get an Olympic gold in the Paralympics. She was supported by other people and thought she could achieve, even though she had always wanted to do sport as an able-bodied person. She became paralysed in an accident playing hide and seek, when she fell out of a tree, and has lived both as an able-bodied person and as someone who is not able-bodied. Her story was poignant, and she talked about the vital strength and support of teachers and family members. I do not know whether I can give a clear answer to the hon. Gentleman's point—I am sure that the Minister can—but I hear what he says; the support he speaks of is needed. It is important to look in the round at what can be achieved. The coalition Government are doing that, because social mobility will not be achieved by a single initiative. It is a question of a host of interventions, providing small steps at various stages in someone's life, to enable them to climb up. Social mobility appears to have stagnated in the UK in the past 30 years. Children's educational outcomes are still overwhelmingly tied to their parents' income. The OECD published ““A Family Affair: Intergenerational Social Mobility across OECD Countries”” as part of ““Going for Growth 2010””; it shows the United Kingdom as among the countries where socio-economic background appears to have the largest influence on students' performance. Although initiatives have been introduced in the past 30 years, it appears there has been little success.