Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the level of regional disparities in access to financial education.

Financial education forms part of the citizenship National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4, which is a statutory subject for Local Authority maintained schools, but can be taught by academies. Through citizenship, secondary school pupils are taught about income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent.

The mathematics curriculum includes a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that primary pupils should be taught. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, using percentages. The secondary mathematics curriculum develops pupils’ understanding in relation to more complex personal finance issues such as calculating loan repayments, interest rates and compound interest.

My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has set out a new mission to ensure all pupils study some form of mathematics to age 18. Studying mathematics to 18 will equip young people with the quantitative and statistical skills that they will need for the jobs of today and the future. This includes having the right skills to feel confident with finances in later life, including finding the best mortgage deal or savings rate.

The Government is not planning to make an assessment of access to financial education in each region. The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has a statutory objective to develop and co-ordinate a national strategy to improve people’s financial capabilities. The strategy is supported by Delivery Plans for each nation of the UK and further details can be found here: https://www.maps.org.uk/uk-strategy-for-financial-wellbeing/.

As part of this, MaPS has published guidance to support head teachers to enhance their financial education provision, which is available here: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.

The Department and MaPS are planning a series of joint financial education webinars during this academic year, aimed at promoting the importance of financial education, improving pupils’ knowledge and teachers’ confidence.