Equalities minister Phillipson has established a new "class unit" within government and moved to discontinue the use of external social mobility advisers, the minister announced.
Phillipson said the shift would bring work to tackle social disadvantage "in-house", centralising responsibility within the department rather than relying on advisers outside government. The change replaces the previous advisory arrangement with an internal team focused on class and disadvantage.
The new unit is intended to concentrate on government efforts to address barriers linked to social class, coordinating work from within the ministerial structure. Details on the unit's staffing, remit and how it will operate alongside other departments were not provided in the announcement.
The decision marks a reorganisation of how the government approaches social mobility policy, moving from a model that drew on external expertise to one managed directly by ministerial officials. How this will affect engagement with outside experts, charities and campaigners remains to be seen.
Ministers said the reorganisation is designed to strengthen the government's capacity to tackle disadvantage internally; further information on implementation and delivery is expected as the unit begins its work.