Oral Answers to Questions

Rupa Huq Excerpts

Wednesday 15th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

May I start by sending my best wishes to Lara and thanking my hon. Friend for raising her case in Parliament? Of course, it is incredibly upsetting and challenging for children and young people to be diagnosed with a serious illness, especially so close to their exams. There are allowances that are made, and in the first instance students will speak to their school or college to make those reasonable adjustments, but I will be happy to ensure that we work with my hon. Friend to find a resolution in Lara’s case.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

Q8. I welcome the Prime Minister’s numeracy drive, but did he know that some 7.1 million adults in England are functionally illiterate? It is often diagnosed late in life—as with TV’s Jay Blades—if at all. Will the Prime Minister thank the entirely voluntary Read Easy, which is turning that around at a cost of just £250 per new reader, and will he commit to a national strategy for eradicating the problem, which is costing our economy £25 billion a year in lost competitiveness?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with the hon. Lady: literacy and numeracy are critical for adults to be able to participate in society and the economy. I am happy to praise Read Easy for the work that it does, and I look forward to learning more about it. The best way to solve this problem is to ensure that our young children get the reading skills, training and education that they need. I am so pleased that, because of the reforms introduced by previous Conservative Governments, particularly on phonics, we have now marched up the international league table and have some of the best results for reading that we have seen in a very long time.