Poor still at disadvantage, says Milburn

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Alan Milburn spoke out as a new study found that children's chances of success still depend largely on whether their parents are well off. "I would say we have raised the glass ceiling but not broken through it," he said. "More action is required."

The Social Mobility Commission findings suggest higher education spending under Labour has largely benefited the better off.

It found that only a third of pupils eligible for free school meals obtained five good GCSEs, compared with 63 per cent of better-off children, and the proportion of poorer children getting degrees was up three per cent while the rise among the wealthy was 26 per cent.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said: "This expert analysis shatters the idea that Britain in 2009 is a free and fair society."