§ Mr. SimmondsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people in the United Kingdom were classified as(a) innumerate and (b) illiterate in each year since 1995. [158326]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisUntil last year, information on literacy and numeracy skills had not been collected on a regular basis, so annual data are not available. However, the "Skills for Life Survey: A national needs and impact survey of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills", which was published by the Department for Education and Skills in October last year, tested the literacy, language and numeracy skills of 8,040 people in England. The findings are shown in the following table. Attainment is split into levels that are broadly mapped to the National Curriculum Key Stages in schools: Entry Levels 1, 2 and 3 correspond to Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, Level 1 corresponds to Key Stage 3, and Level 2 to Key Stage 4. We consider those who are at Entry Level 3 or below to have a severe basic skills need.
As education is a devolved matter, the Department does not have data covering the rest of the United Kingdom.
Percentage of 16 to 65-year-olds
Number of 16 to 65-year-olds
(million)
Overall literacy1 Entry level 1 or below 3 1.1 Entry level 2 2 0.6 Entry level 3 11 3.5 (All Entry level or below) (16) (5.2) Level 1 40 12.6 Level 2 or above 44 14.1 100 31.9 Overall numeracy2 Entry level 1 or below 5 1.7 Entry level 2 16 5.1 Entry level 3 25 8.1 (All Entry level or below) (47) (15.0) Level 1 28 8.8 Level 2 or above 25 8.1 100 31.9 1 Base: all respondents with literacy level (7,874) 2 Base: all respondents with numeracy level (8,040) Source for population figures: Census 01
§ Mr. SimmondsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people in the United1736W Kingdom had (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills below Level 1, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) race and (iii) socio-economic group in each year since 1995. [158328]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisUntil last year, there was no large-scale collection of information on literacy and numeracy skills, so annual data are not available. However, the "Skills for Life Survey: A national needs and impact survey of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills", which was published by the Department for Education and Skills in October last year, tested the literacy, language and numeracy skills of 8,040 people in England.
Attainment in literacy and numeracy, recorded by gender, social class and ethnic background, is summarised in the tables.
As education is a devolved matter, the Department does not have access to data for the rest of the United Kingdom.
Literacy and Numeracy skills below Level 1 by Gender Literacy by Gender Base: all respondents with literacy level (7874) Men aged 16–65 (%)
Women aged 16–65 (%)
Below Level 1 16 16 Level 1 and above 84 84
Numeracy by Gender Base: all respondents with numeracy level (8040) Men aged 16–65 (%)
Women aged 16–65 (%)
Below Level 1 41 59 Level 1 and above 53 47
Literacy and Numeracy skills below Level 1 by Social Class Literacy by household social class Base: All respondents with literacy scores Base Below Level 1 (%)
Level 1 and above (%)
I 429 6 94 II 2,656 8 92 IIIa 1,328 12 88 IIIb 1,739 21 79 IV 1,051 31 69 V 301 37 63 Total 7,874 16 84 1737W
Numeracy by household social class Base: All respondents with numeracy scores Base Below Level 1 (%)
Level 1 and above (%)
I 433 23 77 II 2,664 33 67 IIIa 1,361 48 52 IIIb 1,785 56 44 IV 1,100 65 35 V 317 77 23 Total 8,040 47 53
Literacy and Numeracy skills below Level 1 by ethnic group Literacy level by ethnic group Base: All respondents with literacy level All (n = 7874)
White British (n=7015)
Asian (Indian) (n=123)
Asian (Pakistani)
(n=69)1
Black (Caribbean)
(n=80)1
Black (African) (n=77)1
Below Level 1 16 14 37 47 40 38 Level 1 or above 84 86 63 53 60 62 1Note small base
Numeracy level by ethnic group Base: All respondents with numeracy level All (n=8040)
White British (n=7160)
Asian (Indian) (n=130)
Asian (Pakistani)
(n=70)1
Black (Caribbean)
(n=86)1
Black (African) (n = 78)1
Below Level 1 47 45 61 71 81 78 Level 1 or above 53 55 39 29 19 22 1 Note small base