To improve the math skills of up to half a billion adults, a numeracy program will be launched.
Rishi Sunak told MPs he would put £560million into the scheme, called Multiply, to ‘change people’s lives across the whole United Kingdom’. The cash will be used for a period of three years.
Ministers hope that by increasing adults’ confidence with numbers it will improve their employment chances and earnings.
It will offer flexible courses and an online platform that can be adapted to fit into busy lives.
The Chancellor said: ‘Millions of adults in England have numeracy skills lower than those expected of a nine-year-old.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, leaves 11 Downing Street in London before delivering his Budget at the House of Commons.
The Chancellor has announced a new scheme named Multiply that will improve basic maths skills of up to half a million adults
‘According to the leading charity National Numeracy this costs individuals with poor numeracy up to £1,600 a year in lost earnings.
“People with poor numeracy skills are twice as likely to be unemployed than their peers.”
‘With £560million, Multiply will improve basic maths skills and help to change people’s lives across the whole United Kingdom.’
The programme, which starts next April, will equip ‘hundreds of thousands more adults with functional numeracy skills’, the Budget Red Book said.
The Treasury in England expects the scheme will be particularly beneficial to the North East, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber which have the highest rates for poor numeracy.
After delivering his budget, Mr Sunak posed with Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a Bermondsey brewery.
Sam Sims, chief executive at National Numeracy, praised the scheme. ‘It provides recognition of the role that basic numeracy plays in opening up opportunities for individuals, and the benefits numeracy can bring to the economy and society as a whole,’ he said.
‘Crucially, the focus on innovative and flexible approaches that help build confidence, as well as skills, could make this a game-changer for those adults typically not yet ready to access existing courses.
‘We look forward to working with Government to ensure Multiply has a big impact and a lasting legacy.
‘Over the past decade, we’ve learnt that for those with low numeracy, building confidence goes hand in hand with building skills, and that emphasising the real-world value of numeracy is key.’