ADR UK evidence on social mobility data informs recommendations made by the House of Lords

The House of Lords Social Mobility Policy Select Committee has published its final report, outlining evidence considered and recommendations made during its inquiry this summer. 

In June, Dr Emma Gordon, Director of ADR UK, was invited to share insights from the programme with the committee. Her contribution focused on the opportunities administrative data can provide for understanding and acting on barriers to social mobility across the UK. 

Emma shared learnings from ADR UK’s work, highlighting where further progress could be made to unlock the full potential of data-led evidence generated from the UK's wealth of administrative data.  

Wider sector and international viewpoints 

The committee also heard from Jennet Woolford, Director for Public Policy Analysis at Office for National Statistics, and Mark Brewin, Deputy Director of Data Sharing and Acquisition at HM Revenue & Customs, bringing additional sector expertise.  

John Friedman, Co-Director of Opportunity Insights at Brown University, also attended to share an international perspective. 

Key recommendations reflect ADR UK contributions 

ADR UK welcomed the inclusion of several recommendations informed by the evidence Emma provided. These include: 

• Progressing the expansion of the LEO (Longitudinal Educational Outcomes) dataset to include links to the Pupil Parent Matched dataset 

• Reviewing the exclusion of health and social care data from relevant legislation (the Digital Economy Act 2017), to support better understanding of the impact of health on social mobility. 

The government now has until 26 January 2026 to respond to the report. 

Read the full report 

You can explore the findings and recommendations in the full report, including recommendations 212 and 214:

House of Lords Social Mobility Select Committee Report 2025