The Bishop of Newcastle received the following written answer on 13th October 2025:
The Lord Bishop of Newcastle asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the increasing A Level attainment gap between the North East and London and what steps they are taking to reduce this gap.
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab, DfE): All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter where they are from. However, we know pupil attainment varies considerably across the country and between regions. These disparities are not acceptable.
Through the Opportunity Mission, the department will improve opportunities and life chances across the country for all children and young people.
High and rising standards are key to strengthening outcomes and closing gaps for every child and young person. We are driving these improvements through new regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, and our commitment to recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools and in our colleges, over the course of this parliament.
Despite this, there is further work to do, which is why our schools and post-16 skills white papers later this year will set out our vision for a system that drives educational excellence for all, regardless of background or where they live.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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