Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy rates among pupils in the North East of England.

The most recent data shows that in the 2023/24 academic year, 75% of pupils met the expected standard in reading at key stage 2 in the North East. This matches the national average in 2023/24.

In the 2023/24 academic year, 73% of pupils met the expected standard in mathematics at key stage 2 in the North East. This compares to the national average of 74% in 2023/24.

In the 2023/24 academic year, 62.3% of pupils achieved grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs in the North East. This compares to 65.4% of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs in England.