Westminster Hall adjournment debate on the use of calculators in schools.

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on the use of calculators in schools.

My hon. Friend makes his point very eloquently. The debate is not just about the individual's success in life—there is much evidence that those with advanced mathematical skills secure better employment prospects and higher standards of living—but that as a country we need to get it right, which we have...

My hon. Friend makes his point very eloquently. The debate is not just about the individual's success in life—there is much evidence that those with advanced mathematical skills secure better employment prospects and higher standards of living—but that as a country we need to get it right, which we have...

Does the Minister agree that understanding basic operations enables one to check calculations? For example, when purchasing an item or considering a mortgage, people can check whether their calculator is right, which provides a sense check. When people have those basic skills, they are equipped for all such difficult situations...

Does the Minister agree that understanding basic operations enables one to check calculations? For example, when purchasing an item or considering a mortgage, people can check whether their calculator is right, which provides a sense check. When people have those basic skills, they are equipped for all such difficult situations...

I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) on securing this interesting debate on a topic of great importance to us all. I take the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson) about the importance of mathematics...

I begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) on securing this interesting debate on a topic of great importance to us all. I take the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson) about the importance of mathematics...

I saw that happening on a visit to a Taiwanese school. The reason behind it was that the Taiwanese felt it was so essential to their economy to embrace new technologies. They thought that that was the way to improve mathematical and science skills, which was so important to them.

I saw that happening on a visit to a Taiwanese school. The reason behind it was that the Taiwanese felt it was so essential to their economy to embrace new technologies. They thought that that was the way to improve mathematical and science skills, which was so important to them.

I am sure that my hon. Friend is right. Being fluent in the multiplication tables right up to 12 times 12—there are, after all, 12 months in the year and there are 12 in a dozen, which are still frequently used quantities regardless of decimalisation—gives people an instinct for numbers....

I am sure that my hon. Friend is right. Being fluent in the multiplication tables right up to 12 times 12—there are, after all, 12 months in the year and there are 12 in a dozen, which are still frequently used quantities regardless of decimalisation—gives people an instinct for numbers....

I am pleased to have secured this debate on the use of calculators in school. The Library confirmed to me that there has not been a single debate on this subject in the past 10 years, and I suspect that it goes even further back than that. There may never...

I am pleased to have secured this debate on the use of calculators in school. The Library confirmed to me that there has not been a single debate on this subject in the past 10 years, and I suspect that it goes even further back than that. There may never...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) on securing this excellent debate. I thank her for being kind enough to allow me to make some supportive comments. As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on financial education, I absolutely support this call about...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss) on securing this excellent debate. I thank her for being kind enough to allow me to make some supportive comments. As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on financial education, I absolutely support this call about...

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will calculate how much it would cost to supply every household in the United Kingdom with a free sterling to euro calculator.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will calculate how much it would cost to supply every household in the United Kingdom with a free sterling to euro calculator.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what special arrangements will be made for those required to sit a maths paper for which the use of calculators is forbidden at GCSE who suffer from dyslexia or other specific difficulties.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, what special arrangements will be made for those required to sit a maths paper for which the use of calculators is forbidden at GCSE who suffer from dyslexia or other specific difficulties.

How many calculators have been purchased by the NHS Supplies Authority in each of the last five years. - Info not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

How many calculators have been purchased by the NHS Supplies Authority in each of the last five years. - Info not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

What was total domestic output of calculating instruments (874.21, 29), % exported & share of domestic market taken by imports in each year since 1975. - Not available.

What was total domestic output of calculating instruments (874.21, 29), % exported & share of domestic market taken by imports in each year since 1975. - Not available.