NLT policy

Literacy in the Spending Review

24 Aug 2010

This autumn's Spending Review is the most vital for a generation. Tasked with tackling the deficit which will involve public expenditure cuts, the Government must ensure that it continues to invest in key areas that protect the poorest in society. In an age of austerity, literacy is undoubtedly one of these areas.

Introduction

When the Labour Government came to power in 1997 one of their first changes was to significantly shift the way government spending is allocated. The most important of these changes was replacing yearly spending reviews with a system of Comprehensive Spending Reviews that run every three years. These reviews were an opportunity for government departments to position for money to spend on various programmes and initiatives that met their strategic priorities.

However, due to the challenging economic environment, the current Spending Review announced by the new Coalition Government is of an entirely different order. The Government has set itself the task of tackling the UK's budget deficit, much of which will be paid for by reducing public expenditure. As the outgoing Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne wrote in a note his successor: "There's no money left". Given the current state of affairs, the Government has signalled its intention to do more with less.

The new Government's deficit reduction plan comes armed with a concept: Big Society. This proposes a reshaping of the relationship between government and the people, in which the voluntary sector, communities and individuals are handed power and control over areas previously monopolised by the state. If communities and individuals are to handle their new powers effectively they will have to be literate. The National Literacy Trust believes that its advocacy for improved literacy is therefore needed now more than ever before. The Spending Review provides the ideal opportunity to engage with the Government over this vital issue.

Why literacy is important to the Coalition Government

Literacy is fundamental to realising the programme of the coalition. As Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education has said "Nothing is more important than getting literacy right: children have to learn to read before they can read to learn".

Delivering the Big Society

"We will promote decentralisation and democratic engagement…and make it easier for people to come together to improve their communities and help one another".
The Coalition: Our programme for government

The basis of coalition policy is a refreshing of civil society and a reduction in the role of the state. Literacy interplays with this vision in a number of ways. Research has shown that those with good literacy are far more likely to take part in civic and cultural life, are more likely to trust people in their community and are more likely to consider themselves happy and doing well. In fact, research put together by the National Literacy Trust in 2008, Literacy Changes Lives, found that only 12% of men and 16% of women with the lowest literacy levels participated in community activity, compared to 21% and 29% with the highest levels. Perhaps more strikingly 45% of men and 47% of women with the lowest literacy did not trust people in their local area, a figure which stood at just 24% and 18% for those with the highest literacy.

Delivering Social Mobility

"The Government believes that there are many barriers to social mobility and equal opportunities in Britain today, with too many children held back because of their social background... We need concerted government action to tear down these barriers and help to build a fairer society…we need to reform our school system to tackle educational inequality, which has widened in recent years."
The Coalition: Our programme for government

One of the fundamental barriers to social mobility and equal opportunities is the lack of literacy skills in British society amongst children from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds. As Mr Gove has stated "education is the process by which we enable every child to take control of their destiny, and to become author of their own life story". Literacy is the key to unlocking the ability of each child to learn and develop both intellectually and emotionally.

In addition to lack of literacy skills, another barrier to social mobility is the "poverty of aspiration" that exists amongst children and young people from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds. Poor literacy skills and lack of ambition are inextricably linked. Without any career-oriented goals, children and young people can become frustrated with and disengaged from the education system. The importance of aspirations should not be underestimated. "Aspirations can act as a navigator, enabling people to chart their life course' (Literacy Changes Lives). The aspirations of teenagers can influence their educational attainment, career choices, and future earnings (Schoon and Parsons, 2002). Men "with Entry Level 2 literacy skills were twice as likely to have had low career aspirations at the age of 16 as men with Level 1 skills or higher (38% and 15%, respectively). Women with Entry Level 2 literacy skills [are] three times less likely than their higher skilled counterparts to have career aspirations (11% and 3%, respectively)"(Literacy Changes Lives).

It is vital that the Government recognises the importance of literacy initiatives in this Spending Review if it is to achieve its goal of spreading opportunity. This will enable children and young people from lower-income backgrounds to flourish accordingly, allowing them to have fulfilling careers and lead stable and secure lives.

Delivering an Equitable Welfare System

"The Government believes that we need to encourage responsibility and fairness in the welfare system. That means providing help for those who cannot work, training and targeted support for those looking for work."

The Coalition: Our programme for government

Again, literacy is central to this commitment. "Men who improve their literacy rates see their likelihood of being on state benefits reduced from 19% to 6%" and "families with high literacy levels are far more likely to live in working households, with only 2% of families with good literacy living in workless households" (Literacy Changes Lives).

Multiple other studies show this strong relationship between literacy and employment. Data from the National Child Development Study shows that men and women with the lowest levels of literacy are also the least likely to be employed (e.g. Parsons and Bynner, 2006). As is noted in Literacy Changes Lives, those with lower levels of literacy enter employment earlier and are more likely to be unemployed by the time they are 23. By the age of 37, the gap between those with low, average and good literacy levels widens with those with low levels of literacy being less likely to be in full time employment than those with average or good literacy skills.

Importantly, research also shows that improving literacy skills can have a beneficial effect on people's chances of employment. Improving literacy skills to Level 1 increases the likelihood of employment by about 5 percentage points. Wages also increase by 7 percentage points (Layard et al, 2002).

The evidence could not be clearer. The continued investment in literacy after the Spending Review in order to improve basic skills has the long term advantage of supporting people back into work, reducing their dependency on the state for benefits thereby securing the Government's desire to establish a more efficient and equitable welfare system.

Delivering a growing economy

Stimulating economic growth sits at the heart of the priorities that the Spending Review must address. The UK now has a knowledge economy and in an increasingly globalised world, the type of skills that UK citizens need to effectively compete in the workplace are rapidly changing. We are fast changing to an economy where the majority of the workforce must now use their brainpower, as opposed to engaging in manual labour. Workers in this new economy are needed to produce ideas, knowledge and information. The necessity for a literate nation becomes at once apparent in order to produce and exchange knowledge, workers are going to have to be literate. Too many UK workers lack the required skills needed to function in this new economy. Indeed, the UK is already suffering in comparison to other countries. "According to the Centre for Economic Performance (2005), the UK has a lower output per hour (between 10 and 25%) than France, Germany and the US, which can be explained at least partly by poorer levels of basic skills and a lack of capital investment" (Literacy Changes Lives).

The Government, if it is to realise its goal of restoring the economy to health, cannot afford to ignore the importance of funding initiatives to improve literacy following the Spending Review. Illiteracy is inefficient. According to research carried out by the Every Child a Chance Trust, it is estimated that the consequences for children who do not learn to read by the age of seven costs taxpayers up to £2.5 billion annually.

Poor literacy has an extensive financial impact on areas such as health, crime and unemployment, the latter being the most costly (Every Child a Chance Trust, 2007). If the Government is intent on recuperating a significant amount of the £2.5 billion of costs related to poor literacy it is going to have to invest in schemes aimed at improving literacy. Indeed the benefits are manifest and the long-term prize substantial. Not only will the Government save itself a significant amount of money in spending on areas related to poor literacy outcomes but, should the Government invest now it will benefit the economy in the long-run, allowing the UK to boost its overall productivity levels and compete effectively in the global economy.

Conclusion

Literacy is the building block of a successful nation. Only by continuing to fund initiatives  that aim to improve literacy following the Spending Review can the Government's agenda succeed. As has been demonstrated, literacy is vital to realising the Government's aim of building the Big Society, improving social mobility, delivering an efficient and equitable welfare system and securing a highly competitive economy. Investing now in literacy will pay dividends later. The prize of a highly literate nation and all the rewards it brings is too big to ignore.

Claudius Mollokwu, National Literacy Trust

Tags: England, Local Authorities, NLT Campaigns, Northern Ireland, Partners in Literacy, Policy, Schools & teaching, Scotland, Wales

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