A Northern Prime Minister has a Chance to close England’s Numeracy Divide

New analysis of data reveals a stark numeracy divide across England, with communities in the North struggling with numbers more than those in the South.

More than 10.6 million adults across the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber live in local authorities, where the need for numeracy support is among the greatest in England.

Every local authority in the North East falls into the ‘greatest need’ category, along with 33 of the 39 local authorities in the North West and 15 of the 21 in Yorkshire and the Humber. In London, by comparison, just one of 33 local authorities is in this category.

The divide was revealed by the UK Numeracy Index, which predicts numeracy skills and confidence across the UK using data from National Numeracy and Experian.

While England’s north-south divide has long been an issue, numeracy has never before been seen to be part of the problem. However, numeracy has a big part to play in growth, prosperity and opportunities, for individuals, communities and society.

Low number confidence can mean struggling with everyday life; from understanding bills, handling medicines and budgeting to job opportunities and supporting children. It can make people more vulnerable to debt, unemployment, poor health and fraud.

Why we need a Year of Numeracy

Last week the House of Lords Numeracy for Life Committee published its Making it Count: Numeracy for Life report, flagging that over 8 million adults still have numeracy skills below those expected of a nine-year-old.

The report made a raft of recommendations that would “not only empower [people] to meet and manage daily tasks and finances with renewed confidence but also help build the economy.”

We were delighted that the Committee picked up a recommendation I made in my oral evidence; to establish Year of Numeracy, following in the footsteps of this year’s fantastic Year of Reading.

We are already on it! Last week we announced our ambition to create a UK National Year of Numbers by building an alliance spanning business, education, health, finance, sport, culture, technology, media and civil society.

Our ambition is to help inspire people across the UK to discover the relevance and power of numbers and data through engaging experiences, education and everyday opportunities.

We want to create a future where everyone in the UK can use numbers and data with confidence to make decisions, solve problems and realise their potential.

The cost of low numeracy

For too long, indifference, or even hostility to numeracy has been acceptable. “I’m not a maths person” is a common phrase, but we are less eager to say we can’t read. Shrugging off the daily challenges that come with low numeracy has become the norm. That can change.

I meet people who have feared numbers for decades, often after poor classroom experiences. We worked with Cathy who remembers feeling too frightened to ask for help at school. After scoring two out of ten on a test, her teacher’s remark – “atrocious, see me” – led Cathy to stop attending maths lessons altogether. She left home young, struggled to budget, got into debt and didn’t apply for jobs due to her maths anxiety.

But Cathy’s story shows change is possible. She used our free online National Numeracy Challenge to get more confident with numbers and took a Numeracy Champion training course with us. Not only did her numeracy improve, she also realised she was not alone.

There are millions of Cathys in the UK. And it is as damaging to the country’s prospects for growth as it is for individual lives and livelihoods. Our research puts the cost of low numeracy to nation’s economy at up to £25bn a year.

What the Prime Minister can do

Prime Minister Andy Burnham can make a radical change for the better. He has an ambitious vision to expand access to technical education from the age of 14, bringing schools, colleges, employers and local leaders together to help young people find routes into skilled work.

I would urge him to bring that same ambition to numeracy, ensuring that children in our education system develop the skills and confidence they need, while reaching the millions of adults who have already left school believing that numbers are not for them.

A Prime Minister with deep northern roots, has a particular opportunity to understand the scale of the numeracy north-south divide and make tackling it a priority for regional growth.

The Making it Count: Numeracy for Life report makes a significant point that our charity’s work with those in greatest need evidences: while England has improved its international position in school mathematics, those improvements have been driven almost entirely by the highest performers. Significant gaps remain across socioeconomic status, and gender.

Improving average attainment is not enough. There must be a dedicated focus on people who are being left behind, particularly those with low number confidence and limited access to support. And those people are particularly in the North of England.

By Sam Sims, Chief Executive of National Numeracy