Written question asked by David Amess (Conservative) on Wednesday, 28 April 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 11 May 2004. It was answered by Stephen Twigg (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 May 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what action his Department is taking to promote reading in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what action his Department is taking to promote reading in schools; and if he will make a statement. [169930] Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Government is committed to raising standards of reading in our schools and to promoting an enjoyment of reading among young people. The National Literacy Strategy has transformed standards of reading in our primary schools. This was confirmed by the publication last year of the `Progress in International Reading Literacy Study', which reported that England's 10 year olds achieved the third highest standards of reading in the world. It also reported that the literacy strategy had introduced primary school pupils to a wider range of reading texts and that pupils in England had the highest use of real books and reading schemes in the classroom. Building on this improvement is a key aim of our strategies for primary and secondary schools and we are also working closely with the National Literacy Trust on a range of activities to encourage children to read for pleasure.

Secondary information