§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the current reported rate of illiteracy; and what was the rate in each of the previous four years. [20701]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonInformation on the rate of illiteracy is not held centrally by the Scottish Office. In 1990 the Scottish Community Education Council was funded by the Scottish Office to undertake a small study of literacy and numeracy. This indicated that 9 per cent. of a sample of adults had difficulties with either reading, writing or numeracy.
The Scottish Office will continue to support initiatives addressing problems of adult literacy and numeracy. We will also continue to tackle the problem in schools by encouraging appropriate support for pupils with special needs.