What I can do though is set the agenda, create the framework, develop the infrastructures, remove the barriers and allow the real people to do what they do best, get on and do the real job of helping young people and adults to improve their literacy, language and numeracy skills.
Why would a Government do this?
My Government believes it is a fundamental human right for every adult to be literate and numerate. Ministers want all individuals to have the dignity that these essential skills provide.
This is more than an economic argument it is about social inclusion and ensuring that those most at risk of social exclusion are better able to lead full, active, meaningful and purposeful lives at home, at work, within their communities and families and in society as a whole.
Before looking at what we’ve done I want to pause for a moment to look at what the landscape looked like when it was described as ‘A National Disgrace’.
The history of adult basic skills in England before the strategy was not a glorious one – not because good work had not been done – Government interventions can be charted as far back as the 1970s when the Adult Literacy campaign was designed to sweep away the million or so adults with poor levels of literacy.