Meral invited to No. 10 launch as role model for her work on social mobility (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Meral invited to No. 10 launch as role model for her work on social mobility

January 22, 2009 4:32 PM

Councillor Meral Ece and Gordon Brown listen to Minister Liam Byrne

Islington Liberal Democrat councillor Meral Ece, who was awarded the OBE this year for service to local government and who sits on a national taskforce to encourage ethnic minority women into politics, was invited to 10 Downing Street for the launch of a Government White Paper on social mobility.

Meral commented:

"It was an honour to be invited into 10 Downing Street to meet the Prime Minister, members of the Cabinet, and ordinary people from around the country who are all making a difference to people's lives

"I'm very pleased the Government have finally started thinking about the issue of social mobility. More work must be done to ensure that people from all backgrounds reach their full potential. The Liberal Democrats have already produced a report which contains many of the answers which I hope they will consider. I hope that the Government's initiatives are successful. It's unacceptable that two children born at the same time in the same hospital in 2009 have hugely different life chances based simply on the wealth of their parents."

The Liberal Democrat Social Mobility Commission, set up by Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg and chaired by Barnardo's Chief Executive Martin Narey, found that a child's life chances are "dependent on the background and earnings of its parents". The commission's report also found that increased education funding has failed to reach those children most in need.

The Lib Dem report's expert analysis shattered the idea that Britain in 2009 is a free and fair society, and recommends targeting resources in schools to those children who need most help, boosting vocational education for teenagers, and radically altering the tax credit system so it is focused on helping those families most in need