§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards solving the problem of illiteracy.
§ Dr. BoysonIn establishing the adult literacy and basic skills unit with substantial
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§ Dr. BoysonInformation is given in the table below:
funding and a longer remit than any previous agency set up in this field, the Government have recognised illiteracy as a significant and continuing problem which they are determined, even in a period of general financial restraint, to help reduce. The importance which we attach to attacking the problem at source by the teaching of English language skills in schools is reflected in our proposals for seeking a national consensus on a framework for the school curriculum.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his Department's estimate of the number of people in the United Kingdom at present who are (a) totally illiterate, (b) semi-literate and (c) basically literate; and what are the estimates of those who were totally illiterate and basically literate for the following years: 1945, 1950, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970 and 1975.
§ Dr. BoysonThis information is not available. The British Association of Settlements estimated in 1974 that some 6 per cent, of the adult population—about 2 million people—functioned at an inadequate level of literacy. Despite the widespread provision of tuition in literacy, which has since 1975 catered for some 70,000 adults a year, a significant problem remains.