Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of how many adults in the UK lack basic digital skills, and of that number, how many are functionally illiterate; and what plans they have to ensure that such people do not end up marginalised.

The Skills for Life Survey in 2011, assessed the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills of adults aged 16-64 in England using four competencies: word processing; emailing; spreadsheets; and a multiple-choice assessment of other ICT skills such as internet use (see table attached). The survey results demonstrated a broad correlation between the respondents’ performance in the ICT and in the literacy tests.

The Government is supporting adults in England to develop their basic digital skills for the workplace and in everyday life. We are introducing a new entitlement to fully-funded training in digital skills, which will mirror the current approach for improving literacy and numeracy.

The Department also funds the Future Digital Inclusion programme that aims to help one million adults gain basic digital skills by 2019. A majority of these adults are educated below Level 2, unemployed, in a low-income household, in receipt of means-tested benefits, or living in social or sheltered housing.