The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate

This paper highlights the issue of poor numeracy in the UK. Government statistics suggest that 17 million adults - 49 per cent of the working-age population of England - have the numeracy level that would be expected of primary school children. The total cost to the UK economy (to the Exchequer, employers and individuals) has been put at £20 billion a year. Within this, the average cost to individuals with poor numeracy is £460 a year. It affects not only people's pockets, but their health and wellbeing too. And it is a major, and often unrecognised, drain on workplace productivity.

National Numeracy has developed an alternative approach to lifting people's confidence and competence with numbers. Essentials of Numeracy has been designed with maths specialists and presents an explicit, national focus on the practical maths skills and understanding that everyone needs in order to cope with everyday life and to function well at work. The paper calls on government and employers to work together with National Numeracy to embed the Essentials of Numeracy in their own organisations.

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