Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to conduct a further Skill for Life Survey which was last carried out in 2011.

This government recognises the importance of English, maths and digital skills, both in work and everyday life. That is why we will be participating in the next round of The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s second Survey of Adult Skills in 2021 – an international research project that will provide invaluable information about the performance of our national skills system and how it compares internationally. Data will be collected in 2021-22 with publication of the results in 2023. As a result, the department is not currently planning to conduct a further Skills for Life Survey (which was last carried out in 2011).

The Survey of Adult Skills has very similar coverage to Skills for Life in terms of age (16 – 65), and is a direct measure of adults’ core skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communications technology, triangulated with their qualifications, employment and use of skills both within and outside of work. In addition, the data from the Survey of Adult Skills is internationally comparable, unlike Skills for Life 2011.