Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help improve literacy rates in adult Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller populations.

The department recognises that literacy rates in the adult Gypsy, Roma and Traveller population is a barrier to a range of activities in their everyday lives and in supporting their children’s education.

The £1.3 billion Adult Education Budget (AEB)for the 2021/22 academic year fully funds or co-funds skills provision from pre-entry to level 3 and this includes statutory entitlements to fully funded courses in English and mathematics, up to and including level 2, for eligible adult learners, including those from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller populations, who have not previously attained a GCSE grade C/4 or higher.

In the 2021/22 academic year, approximately 60% of the AEB has been devolved to 9 Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority . These authorities are now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the AEB to providers. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas.

The ESFA AEB also includes Community Learning funding which enables more flexible tailored programmes of learning to be made available, which may or may not require a qualification, to help eligible learners engage in learning, develop their skills, including literacy skills, build confidence and/or enhance their wellbeing. Providers are required to prioritise this funding on disadvantaged learners which could include Gypsies, Roma’s and Travellers.