Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether training providers will be invited to bid to deliver the (a) in-person and (b) at-work elements of the Multiply scheme announced in the Autumn Budget 2021; and if he will make a statement.

Sitting at the heart of UK Shared Prosperity Fund’s skills offer, with £560 million allocated over the Spending Review (SR) period, Multiply is the government’s new programme for improving adult numeracy, including:

• £430 million across the SR (£130 million in 2022-23, £150 million in 2023-24, £150 million in 2024-25) allocated directly to local areas to deliver local numeracy interventions.
• £129 million across the SR (£49 million in 2022-23, £40 million in 2023-24, and £40 million in 2024-25) will deliver a new digital platform and a programme of Randomised Control Trials to improve evidence and evaluation in the field.

Multiply builds on existing entitlements for funding for maths qualifications up to Level 2 (GCSE) in the Adult Education Budget. Funding will enable delivery of more flexible courses that fit around adult’s lives and meet their needs, reaching more people across the UK.

The Government will publish further details on the fund in due course.