Local MP Caroline Dinenage today pledged to support the efforts of homelessness charity St Mungo's Broadway after hearing how homeless people are held back by a lack of basic literacy skills. Caroline has long pushed for improvements in basic skills, and this pledge follows her work in the House of Commons to improve both literacy and numeracy amongst children and adults.
St Mungo's Broadway carried out the largest ever recorded survey of the English and maths skills of homeless people in England and found that 51% lack the basic literacy skills needed for everyday life and wouldn't achieve a grade D-G in GCSE English. This figure compares with one in six (15%) of the general population who struggle to read.
Commenting, Caroline said: "Basic literacy and numeracy are absolutely vital in preparing for and finding work; lacking these skills can make recovering from homelessness so much harder. Everyone should have the chance to build the skills to lead an independent life, which is why I am keen to support St Mungo's Broadway with their campaign to increase the opportunities available to homeless people to improve their English and maths skills."
Caroline's comments follow her campaign to improve adult skills, which has seen her lead Parliamentary debates, successfully lobby for a Business, Innovation and Skills inquiry into the issue, and even co-found the All Party Parliamentary Group for Maths and Numeracy.
The findings, published in the report Reading Counts: Why English and maths skills matter in tackling homelessness, also show that homeless people who lack basic skills make less progress in addressing other problems such as poor physical and mental health. The report makes recommendations for increasing the availability of effective English and maths programmes for all homeless people.