Women: Literacy

Baroness Rebuck Excerpts

Tuesday 8th March 2016 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Rebuck]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to improve the reading skills of 16 to 24 year-old women to ensure that they have a good start in life, and to support their well-being and social mobility.

[Baroness Rebuck (Lab)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and I remind the House of my interests on this issue.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

Being able to read well is essential. Poor literacy is associated with higher levels of unemployment and poorer health and well-being. We are improving literacy provision from early years through to adult education. More than 250,000 adult women achieved an English qualification, paid for by the Government, in the academic year 2013-14.

[Baroness Rebuck]

I thank the Minister for her reply, but we are in a perilous position. Literacy skills for 16 to 24 year-olds in England are at the bottom of the OECD charts, and we are one of the few countries where young people underperform their elders. More young women than men are not in education, employment or training and 70% of lone parents—mostly women—without qualifications are unemployed. Will the Minister tell the House how the Government are helping these vulnerable young women and their children break the cycle of underachievement? What does she believe will be the impact on the learning opportunities of the 9 million adults in England with poor basic literacy skills of the withdrawal of funds from many front-line literacy charities and the closure of libraries in some of our most deprived communities?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question which covered quite a range of issues. In changing our approach, we are ensuring that all 16 year-olds who do not get at least a grade C in English GCSE continue to study English, so we are looking to improve attainment at that level. As a result of that change, over 2,300 more girls achieved an English GCSE last year than the year before. We are doing a lot of work in local communities, including continuing to invest £200 million a year in community learning, which is specifically aimed at engaging people who are disadvantaged. Seventy-two per cent of the participants in that programme are women, so we are working within schools and in community projects to ensure access to literacy for as many women as possible.