Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people aged between 18 and 21 claiming jobseeker's allowance who have skills levels below Level 2.

The Skills for Life Survey (2011) was published by BIS in 2012. It gives the national profile of adult literacy, numeracy and ICT skills in England and assesses the impact of different skills levels on people’s lives.

The Skills for Life Survey is attached in 2 parts (due to downloading restrictions).

The survey covers individuals aged 16-65 in England only. The survey does not provide age breakdowns for JSA respondents so it is not possible to identify the proportion of JSA respondents aged 18 to 21 who had less than level 2 in Literacy or Numeracy.

Where a claimant's lack of skills is a barrier to them finding work they will be referred either for an in-depth skills check with the National Careers Service or direct to the most appropriate training provider.