The armed forces recognise that improving basic skills enhances the ability of service personnel to cope with work pressures and increases their potential for career development. Basic skills education is one of several roles for service education officers, but is also delivered by appropriately trained civilian staff. Significant key skills training is also delivered within vocational training programmes.
Establishing the full cost of basic skills education across the armed forces could be achieved only at disproportionate cost. Hence in this response the expenditure identified is that which relates specifically to the employment and support of specialist manpower whose primary role is the delivery of basic skills education.
Royal Navy
Basic skills tutors have been directly employed by the RN since 2006 and the costs relating to their role are as follows:
2006 2007 Basic skills tutors 250,000 250,000
Army
As the largest of the services the army has the greatest requirement for basic skills education and support. The costs directly attributable to Basic Skills Development Managers (BSDM) (salary, travel and subsistence and in-house training) since their engagement in 2002 are shown in the following table.
BSDM Admin SP Total 2002 480,000 102,000 582,000 2003 1,046,000 741,000 1,787,000 2004 1,191,000 765,000 1,956,000 2005 1,361,000 828,000 2,189,000 2006 1,612,000 874,000 2,486,000 2007 1,665,000 942,000 2,607,000
Royal Air Force
The RAF has a higher academic entry standard than the Army and RN. Any basic skills educational requirements are met primarily through the use of local college programmes, outside normal working hours and utilising Learning and Skills Council funding. Where literacy and numeracy packages have been delivered on RAF bases they have been funded by the individuals themselves. There are therefore no figures available for directly attributable costs for basic skills education for the RAF in the period 2000-07.