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Written question asked by Baroness Rebuck (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 November 2017, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 November 2017. It was answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 15 November 2017 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Digital Technology: Adult Education

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support UNESCO’s work in discovering what kind of literacy skills people need to navigate a digitally-mediated society; and what actions they plan to take in the UK to explore and fund effective adult literacy policies and programmes which leverage the opportunities that the digital world provides.

Answer

We welcome the work that UNESCO is doing on digital literacy to highlight some of the challenges and opportunities that the digital world presents.

The Government supports adults in England to develop the basic English and digital expertise they need for employment and everyday life. We provide funding for adults to access a range of literacy training up to English GCSE and equivalent qualifications, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses.

Provisional Further Education and Skills data shows that in 2016/17 the Government funded the participation of 536,700 adults in English courses and 114,400 adults in ESOL courses. We are also introducing a similar right to funding for specified Information and Communication Technology courses.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL2818
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Adult education Digital technology Finance
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk