Question
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the adult literacy levels in each region in the United Kingdom; and whether those levels are increasing or decreasing. [HL5]
The Skills for Life survey in 2003 estimated the literacy and numeracy levels and functional ability of adults in England. For completeness the table below provides the regional breakdown of functional literacy and numeracy levels across England. These data are also publicly available for local areas (and other localities from GORs down to ward level) at www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus_skillsforlifesurvey.
UK Region Percentage of adults with functional numeracy levels* as at 2003 Percentage of adults with functional literacy levels** as at 2003 East Midlands 77 84 East of England 84 87 London 76 80 North East 73 78 North West 75 83 South East Region 83 88 South West 88 87 West Midlands 78 83 Yorkshire and the Humber 78 87
*The Leitch definition of functional numeracy is adults with entry level 3 or above
** The Leitch definition of functional literacy is adults with level 1 and above
We cannot currently measure change in levels of literacy or numeracy as the Skills for Life survey has not been repeated. However, since 2003 there has been a year-on-year increase in the numbers of people improving their literacy and numeracy skills. Since the launch of the Skills for Life strategy in 2001, 2,276,000 adults have improved their skills and gained first qualifications in literacy, language and numeracy. Over 1 million of those qualifications came in literacy.