§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his estimate is of the number of children who were judged to be illiterate on leaving school in England in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [13515]
§ Mr. Ivan Lewis[holding answer 14 November 2001]: 99 per cent. of 15-year-olds have achieved a GCSE pass in English in each of the last three years. However, no separate assessment has been made of literacy rates among school leavers. The Government are committed to raising standards of literacy, particularly through the successful National Literacy Strategy in primary schools and the new Key Stage 3 Strategy in secondary schools.