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<p>The 2011 Skills for Life survey provides an estimate of adult literacy levels for
people aged between 16 and 65 years-old in England, based on fieldwork conducted between
May 2010 and February 2011. The headline findings of the survey were published in
December 2011.[1] The survey results show that 14.9 per cent (5.1 million) of people
had a literacy level below Level 1. Level 1 is viewed as the Level required to be
‘functionally literate', the level needed to get by in life and at work,[2] and so
people below this level could be defined as having a low level of literacy. Level
1 is equivalent to GCSE grades D-G. Adults with skills below Level 1 can read or write,
but their skills may be limited, for example, they may not be able to read bus or
train timetables.</p><p> </p><p>The 2011 Skills for Life survey also provided Small
Area modelled estimates[3] for sub-regional geographies. This analysis provides estimates
of the proportions and numbers of people above and below the ‘functional literacy'
threshold (i.e. National Qualification Framework Level 1) for sub-regional geographies
in England. The smallest geographical area reported in this analysis are middle-layer
super output areas – these are small areas of consistent size (of about 7,200 people)
used for the collection and reporting of small area statistics by the Office of National
Statistics.</p><p> </p><p>The recent OECD Survey of Adult Skills, published in 2013,
based on fieldwork August 2011 and March 2012, included estimates of UK literacy levels,
based on England and Northern Ireland (Scotland and Wales did not participate in the
survey). National reports for England and Northern Ireland[4] based on the OECD survey
note that 17 per cent of adults in England had low proficiency in literacy (i.e. at
or below the OECD Level 1 in literacy, roughly equivalent to below NQF Level 1 literacy),
compared to 18 per cent in Northern Ireland.</p><br /><p>[1] TNS-BMRB and AlphaPlus
Consultancy Ltd. (2011) <em>2011 Skills for Life survey: headline findings,</em> Department
for Business, Innovation and Skills, BIS research paper 57. Available online at: <a
href="http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/0-9/11-1367-2011-skills-for-life-survey-findings.pdf"
target="_blank">http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/0-9/11-1367-2011-skills-for-life-survey-findings.pdf</a>,
accessed on 07/05/2014.</p><p>[2] As defined in the Leitch review of skills. See Leitch,
S. (2006) <em>Prosperity for All in the Global Economy – world class skills</em>,
available online at: <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/6/4/leitch_finalreport051206.pdf"
target="_blank">http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/6/4/leitch_finalreport051206.pdf</a>,
accessed on 07/05/2014: page 61-62.</p><p>[3] Available online at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/2011-skills-for-life-survey-small-area-estimation-data"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/2011-skills-for-life-survey-small-area-estimation-data</a>,
accessed on 6/2/14.</p><p>[4] NFER (2013) The International Survey of Adult Skills:
adult literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills in England, BIS research report
139. Available online at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246534/bis-13-1221-international-survey-of-adult-skills-2012.pdf"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246534/bis-13-1221-international-survey-of-adult-skills-2012.pdf</a>,
accessed on 07/05/14.; NFER (2013) The International Survey of Adult Skills: adult
literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills in Northern Ireland, Department for
Employment and Learning. Available online at: <a href="http://www.delni.gov.uk/international-survey-adult-skills-2012.pdf"
target="_blank">http://www.delni.gov.uk/international-survey-adult-skills-2012.pdf</a>,
accessed on 07/05/14.</p>
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