Today I have given my support to a new set of ambitious goals aimed at improving people’s life chances and access to careers in Thirsk and Malton.
The levelling up goals are the practical response to the agenda to level-up Britain in the recovery from Covid19. They have been designed by a former Cabinet minister alongside Britain's leading businesses and universities to pinpoint key challenges that, if resolved, would create a level playing field on life and job opportunities. Former Secretary of State for Education, Rt Hon Justine Greening, developed the Levelling Up Goals with the aim of improving life chances, from early years through to adulthood.
The Levelling Up Goals include closing the gaps in literacy that emerge in early school years as well as tackling the digital divide and building up personal financial security. The 14 Levelling Up Goals are intended to set out how the ambition to level up Britain can be achieved. Targets and measurements related to the goals are being developed by the Social Mobility Pledge in coordination with the University of York.
As we come out of lockdown the levelling up agenda is more important than ever. These goals will provide the same framework for government, education, businesses, communities and others to get behind and address the long running lack of social mobility and inequality of opportunity that exists in Britain. Everyone should have the same chance in life, no matter where they live, and I stand fully behind every effort to address this.
Rt Hon Justine Greening said: “If Britain is to achieve levelling up, I believe that we need a galvanising set of Levelling Up Goals that can unite Parliament, business, communities and civil society to work in partnership for the common good of our country. These goals give us a clear set of objectives to level up communities. Time is of the essence. Covid19 has levelled down our country and therefore made levelling up not only more urgent, but even harder. Whilst the solutions may vary, I believe that these Levelling Up Goals can transcend party politics and set clear objectives for the recovery we need to achieve in our communities. In particular, I know that for different communities, different Levelling Up Goals represent far greater challenges than others. With a clear understanding of the challenges we can work towards building the recovery in local communities. It’s great to have MPs like Kevin Hollinrake committed to playing their leading role in supporting the local recovery from Covid19. Levelling up is ultimately about change on the ground in communities up and down this country. Kevin’s support will be absolutely vital. From mental health to supporting our young people to get their schooling back on track, we can work together to make real progress in the recovery from Covid-19.”
You can find more information here: : https://www.levellingupgoals.org
