Local MP Caroline Dinenage welcomed a surprise £50 million injection to the adult skills budget to help working adults improve their English and maths skills. Caroline has long campaigned on the issues of adult literacy and numeracy, and the last year has seen her co-founding the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Maths and Numeracy, helping to secure a Business Innovation & Skills Select Committee inquiry into adult literacy and numeracy issues in the UK, and even bringing the responsible Government Minister to the House of Commons Chamber to debate these issues.
Commenting, Caroline said, "It's shocking that in the UK today 1 in 6 adults in the UK are functionally illiterate, while 1 in 5 lack basic maths skills. I hope that this funding will help drive forward my campaign to end illiteracy and innumeracy in the UK by giving support to those who so desperately need it."
The money, made available through the European Social Fund, is intended to reach some of the 7.4 million adults in the workforce who lack level 2 or above qualifications (equivalent to A*-C at GCSE level). In particular the funds will be targeted at female and disabled workers working for over eight hours a week.