To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the effects of illiteracy and innumeracy upon future prospects for British employers.

Available evidence indicates that as many as 6 million people in the adult population may have experienced some difficulty with literacy or numeracy either in the workplace or outside. Lack of basic word and number skills is clearly a barrier to effective performance at work and, in turn, profitability. The problem is as much the concern of employers as of individuals.