Lords Committee Calls for National Year of Numeracy and National Adult Numeracy Strategy

The cross-party Committee also wants a post-16 maths and numeracy framework and better-funded GCSE resits in FE, warning that low achievers are being trapped in a spiral of resits.

A House of Lords Committee has called for more Government action to help improve the nation’s numeracy skills.

In its report, ‘Making it Count: Numeracy for Life’, published today (Tuesday 3 November), the cross-party Numeracy for Life Committee has made recommendations to improve numeracy skills from the cradle to retirement. It also calls for a National Year of Numeracy, equivalent to the existing National Year of Reading, to promote and celebrate its importance for all ages.

The Committee, chaired by Lord Agnew of Oulton, was appointed in January 2026. It heard from teachers, academics, charities, education providers, financial experts, Government officials, Skills Minister Baroness Smith of Malvern and former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who gave evidence as founder of The Richmond Project.

Progress, but a stubborn problem

The report recognises real progress. The proportion of adults in England with low numeracy fell from 25% to 14% between 2012 and 2023, which means roughly 1 million to 1.5 million fewer adults with very low skills than a decade ago. England also rose from 27th to 10th in the OECD’s PISA school survey.

However, the Committee says the improvement has been driven almost entirely by the highest performers, with persistent gaps across socio-economic status, gender and ethnicity. Around 16 million adults still have low numeracy skills, and 8 million of them have skills below those expected of a nine-year-old, according to the OECD Survey of Adult Skills 2023.

The report warns of a two-tier system being created, with low achievers at school trapped in a spiral of GCSE resits.

Maths GCSE resits: only one in five 16-19-year-olds who resit the exam achieve a Grade 4

The Committee says this creates a barrier to further education and employment, reduces future earning capacity, restricts civic engagement and has an impact on the economy. One estimate cited in the report suggests workers with low numeracy earn around 6.5% less than they might with basic numeracy skills, an income difference of up to £25 billion a year across the UK. Department for Education research found that a one-grade improvement in GCSE maths is associated with an estimated £14,500 increase in the present value of lifetime earnings.

Post-16 and Further Education

Chapter 4 of the report focuses on 16 to 19-year-olds, and it is where further education colleges are placed at the centre of the challenge. In 2026, 71.8% of 16-year-olds in England achieved Grade 4 or above in GCSE maths, meaning more than one in four did not and are likely to continue studying GCSE maths post-16. The report says only a fifth of those who retake the exam pass, and it cites 2026 figures showing that 15% of those resitting passed.

The Committee calls on the Government to:

• publish a post-16 mathematics and numeracy framework setting out the purpose, target learners and progression routes for GCSE maths, Functional Skills, the proposed Level 1 qualification, Core Maths and maths within apprenticeships
• provide FE colleges and other post-16 providers with sufficient funding and specialist teaching capacity to deliver effective GCSE maths resits, including diagnostic assessment, appropriately sized teaching groups and targeted support for learners with persistent gaps
• evaluate resit outcomes by learners’ prior grades and by the teaching and support models used
• encourage schools to pass information about a learner’s mathematical strengths and knowledge gaps to the college or provider responsible for their post-16 learning

The report notes that when a learner moves to college, the college may know only the GCSE grade and perhaps the tier entered, even though the Year 11 teacher knows precisely which concepts a pupil has and has not grasped.

Resit Policy and 100 hours of in person teaching as a condition of funding

The Committee also wants safeguards to make sure colleges are not encouraged to enter students for resits too soon, such as in the Autumn when many are not yet ready. It says entry should be based on individual readiness, supported by diagnostic assessment and targeted teaching. The report also raises the amount of maths teaching learners receive, noting that the Government’s condition of funding expects 100 hours of in-person, whole-class teaching for learners who have not achieved the standard, but covers English and maths combined. A learner who needs both will therefore get less time focused on maths.

On progression, the report says learners who achieve Grade 3 should normally remain on a GCSE route, while those with grades 1 or 2 may need the proposed Level 1 “stepping stone” qualification to rebuild foundations first. It calls for national reporting to publish outcomes separately for learners entering post-16 study with grades 1, 2 and 3, and for the Department for Education to publish measures of progression from the new qualification to Grade 4 or an equivalent Level 2 outcome.

Functional Skills

The Committee also backs Functional Skills as a positive Level 2 destination. In 2024/25, 23% of 16-19 learners studying below Level 3 maths were enrolled on Functional Skills qualifications, compared with 72% studying GCSE maths. The report says the Government should do more to promote Functional Skills as an equivalent Level 2 qualification, and to secure consistent recognition from employers, apprenticeship providers and further and higher education.

The report highlights evidence from Get Further that its one-to-one and small group tuition approach delivers a pass rate for GCSE resits 55% higher than the national figure.

Work-based learning and employers

The Committee wants the Government, alongside Skills England, to ensure that occupational standards, apprenticeships and technical qualifications make numeracy expectations explicit and provide clear progression pathways for young people who have not achieved Level 2 maths. The report says Level 2 should not become an indefinite barrier to participation in education, training or work, and that learners entering a career pathway should be made aware that they keep funded opportunities to work towards a recognised Level 2 qualification later.

The report points to the Army as a practical example. It told the Committee that up to 50% of recruits arrive with literacy or numeracy below Level 1. The Army runs a four-week “phase zero” course before basic training, puts maths into military contexts such as map reading and calculating speed, distance and time, and links progression to qualifications. Level 1 is required for promotion to corporal and Level 2 for promotion to sergeant.

The Skills Minister told the Committee that around a quarter of vacancies caused by skills shortages are due to a lack of numeracy skills

The Skills Minister told the Committee that around a quarter of vacancies caused by skills shortages are due to a lack of numeracy skills. The report suggests the growth and skills levy may provide another lever, but only if adult numeracy is not crowded out by higher-profile skills priorities. It also says employer provision must not be the only route, as some employers lack capacity and some workers will not want to disclose low confidence in maths to their employer. An employer roundtable held by the Committee found that some employers who tested new joiners and those seeking promotion found that a number did not meet the required level, including graduate-level individuals.

Adult Learning: the Committee calls for a cross-government national adult numeracy strategy for England

For adults, the Committee calls for a cross-government national adult numeracy strategy for England, delivered by devolved and local authorities through their existing adult skills plans. The strategy should set long-term objectives, minimum expectations and common outcome measures, with the Government reporting annually on progress. The report says the principle should be “nationally guaranteed but locally delivered”, so there is no postcode lottery for numeracy provision.

Around 70% of the Adult Skills Fund is now devolved

The report notes that around 70% of the Adult Skills Fund is now devolved, and that there is a national legal entitlement to free Level 2 maths wherever a learner lives. It says an entitlement alone does not guarantee adults know provision exists. Liverpool City Region Combined Authority told the Committee that devolved settlements contain no dedicated campaign or marketing funding.

The Committee also recommends a ‘no wrong door’ approach and also recommends:

• establishing the principle that every adult should have a clear opportunity to identify and improve their numeracy
• flexible, short, contextualised and community-based courses alongside, and connected to, qualification routes
• a ‘no wrong door’ approach, under which jobcentres, primary care, housing services and probation routinely signpost adults who may benefit to suitable support
• appropriate provision for older people, to help them re-train for work, prepare for retirement and manage health conditions

Former PM Rishi Sunak told the Committee that 85% of people on Multiply courses would otherwise not have done a numeracy-oriented adult education course

The report draws on the Multiply programme, which ran from 2022 to March 2025. Witnesses said 58% of learners went on to further learning, and Rishi Sunak told the Committee that 85% of people on Multiply courses would otherwise not have done a numeracy-oriented adult education course. The report says future provision should keep Multiply’s accessibility, but the Committee does not accept the Government’s reasoning for not evaluating skills improvements as part of its evaluation of the programme. It wants any future programmes to be subject to rigorous evaluation of skills gains.

Managing money

The Committee calls on the Government to continue working with organisations such as The Richmond Project and the Financial Times’ FLIC programme, which create financial numeracy materials to support teachers in the classroom. It also wants bodies that provide financial debt advice to signpost sources of financial education, including all relevant gov.uk web pages, to help clients find longer-term help.

The report recommends the Government adopt understanding of inflation, compound interest and risk diversification as a measurable baseline for adult financial capability. The Richmond Project’s research found that 40% of UK adults did not understand all three concepts.

Early years and schools

The report also covers earlier life stages. It calls for guidance for parents on numeracy to be matched with guidance on literacy, continued funding for early years practitioners to attend maths leadership courses including Maths Champions, sustained investment in specialist maths teachers, a pilot of a diagnostic assessment in Year 8, teacher training on dyscalculia, and an evaluation of AI-enabled maths tutoring tools and the safeguards needed to avoid over-reliance on answers generated by technology.

Lord Agnew, Chair of the House of Lords Numeracy for Life Committee, said:

“Numeracy impacts the everyday life of millions in their work, raising children, buying a home, managing health and finances and preparing for retirement.

“Whilst there is much to celebrate with the improvement in maths attainment in schools and progress made in adult numeracy, the reality is that over 8 million adults still have numeracy skills below those expected of a nine year old and children from areas of high deprivation are still more likely to struggle with maths in school.

“Our report calls for the intergenerational cycle of poor numeracy to be broken through an increased focus on early years numeracy, the recruitment of maths specialists in schools and more focus and work on supporting and signposting adults to access work and community learning opportunities. This will not only empower them to meet and manage daily tasks and finances with renewed confidence but also help build the economy.”