0:00:00 > 0:00:05We will now be going live to the House of Lords. All coverage
0:00:05 > 0:00:08continues later after the daily politics tonight.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16I would like to thank Lord story, for having this debate on this
0:00:16 > 0:00:22subject and in doing so declaring an interest over the financial year 's
0:00:22 > 0:00:26trust, which is involved in the area. I should say, unlike others
0:00:26 > 0:00:33who take part in the debate, this is not my special area at all. I feel
0:00:33 > 0:00:39humble in speaking in it, but it is something that I am very interested
0:00:39 > 0:00:45in and the named there is wrong, I am Lord Griffiths florist Fat, not
0:00:45 > 0:00:46Bury Port!
0:00:56 > 0:01:00-- Fforestfach. I feel strongly on the subject, I speak as a parent,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03and a grandparent and I think that any parent thinking on this subject
0:01:03 > 0:01:09would realise the challenge involved, and the fact that we all
0:01:09 > 0:01:15failed. Every child in this country deserves the best possible start in
0:01:15 > 0:01:23life. What you take from pregnancy to the first day of school, if you
0:01:23 > 0:01:26look at that period, it has a powerful influence for the rest of
0:01:26 > 0:01:34their lives. The development at this stage matters more than any other
0:01:34 > 0:01:40area is the inclusion of the social mobility report just published.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Children from backgrounds with reduced life chances because of
0:01:42 > 0:01:50their families being more at risk, living in disadvantaged areas or
0:01:50 > 0:01:56just poorer, they have, compared to their peers, worse development
0:01:56 > 0:02:02outcomes in the early years, in vocabulary and reading, numbers,
0:02:02 > 0:02:07creativity, speech, confidence building and so on. The attainment
0:02:07 > 0:02:14gap between children from low income families and their peers is slowly
0:02:14 > 0:02:19closing with the calculation in the report that I just mentioned is that
0:02:19 > 0:02:23it will take 40 years at the present rate to close that gap and that
0:02:23 > 0:02:29means, with the rate that technology is changing at present in equality
0:02:29 > 0:02:34in our society is bound to increase. The good news is that support and
0:02:34 > 0:02:42good provision really work. And I quote again, disadvantaged children
0:02:42 > 0:02:47in the best areas, they are twice as likely to reach a good level of
0:02:47 > 0:02:51development at the age of five compared with similar children in
0:02:51 > 0:02:56the worst areas. Poor performance isn't concentrated in any type of
0:02:56 > 0:03:02area but similar practices, and places, perform very differently,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06reflecting the role and the importance of parenting.