Literacy and Numeracy

HC Deb 02 March 1987 vol 111 cc479-80W

Mr. Ashdown

asked the Paymaster General, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Yeovil on 24 February concerning expenditure by the Manpower Services Commission on basic literacy and numeracy skills training, if he will publish a table showing a breakdown of such expenditure in 1986–87 by programme or type of provision, and an estimate of the number of persons receiving such training from each programme or type of provision in the year; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lee

The estimated figures for 1986–87 are as follows:

	Expenditure £ million	Number of trainees
Wider opportunities training programme	4.9	3,300
Voluntary projects programme	0.5	5,000

In addition, the community programme and YTS offer literacy and numeracy skills training. However no information is available on the level of expenditure or numbers involved in such training.

Mr. Ashdown

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a table showing the number of persons in each recent year receiving training in basic skills of literacy and numeracy from provision made by local education authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Walden

Information in the form requested is not available centrally. The adult literacy and basic skills unit collects data about the number of people receiving tuition during a given week in each year. The information is as follows:

Tuition from LEAs during a week in	Number of adults
February 1979	57,640
February 1980	56,928
November 1980	63,359
November 1981	73,241
November 1982	176,830
November 1983	82,360
November 1984	84,596
November 1985	2104,016
1 Estimate based on projections from previous years.
2 This figure includes numbers of adults receiving tuition in English as a second language (collected separately for the first time in 1985).

These figures exclude adults receiving help with basic skills in penal establishments, through Manpower Services Commission programmes, or via voluntary organisations. Information about numeracy provision has been specifically requested only since 1981.