§ Hywel WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people are illiterate in(a) Wales and (b) England. [8344]
§ John HealeyLord Moser's 1999 report, "A Fresh Start", notes that perhaps as many as 7 million people (roughly one in five adults) in England have difficulties with functional literacy and numeracy. These adults have a wide range of needs, varying from those who cannot read and write or perform the simplest calculations, to those who simply need to brush up rusty skills. We are commissioning a new survey next year to provide an up-to-date assessment of the scale of basic skills need in England.
The Government have recognised the vital importance to individuals and the economy of improving adult basic skills. The national strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy skills, "Skills for Life", was launched in March this year by the Prime Minister. Our target is to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of 750,000 adults by 2004.
Literacy in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly.