Reading the Room: How Low Literacy is Restraining the Economy

The declining number of children who read regularly is a well-known issue.  However, has the surrounding discourse affected any change? So far, it would seem not, with low literacy rates continuing to further economic inequality, with further impacts including future costs to the NHS, lost opportunity costs for the affected individuals, and a struggle for Britain to maintain its position on the global stage. 

Literacy are on a slippery slope in the UK, with reports of children joining reception class unable to string half a sentence together, let alone learn how to read and write . Low literacy rates are often associated with low-income families who may not understand how important early developmental education is, and therefore may not make the time to, through reading or other means, interact intellectually with their children.

The social disadvantage these children face has the potential to be mitigated by state education. Whilst this could be a potential fix, low funding means schools struggle to do so, with 1 in 7 primary schools not having a library and 62% have no designated library budget to buy books or pay a librarian. This means a child who isn't taught to value reading at home is less likely to learn this at school, and will face the consequences later in life. 

As responsibility increasingly falls upon parents to encourage their children to read, social mobility in the UK will struggle to improve and may even regress. Middle-class families appear to be better than their working-class counterparts at prioritising early education, as seen in the Covid lockdowns. Calls for education reform, such as smaller classroom sizes or allotted reading time (remnants of Blair's 'education, education, education' push), might seem intuitive.  

However, studies have found that the most significant factor contributing to low literacy rates is child poverty . Serious reform for the 31% of children in poverty  is what would actually make a real difference. There is level of urgency to this, with the percentage of children and adults in very deep poverty increasing year upon year. Whether the government's removal of the two-child benefit gap will improve this is yet to be seen, but it does reflect a step in the right direction. 

A campaign of the sort would also prove fiscally useful, since it appears to be costing the economy up to £830 million per year for each year group starting school.  The question of whether Britain will be able to hold its place on the global stage is also a worry, as studies have found that England is the only country in the developed world where 16-24 year olds performed worse in literacy and numeracy compared to 55-64 year olds . This suggests future generations may be underachieving and lack basic skills needed to compete internationally. 

As the NHS operates under limited resources, one way to relieve the pressure would be through advancing literacy rates. Those with poor literacy are impacted through their health, as reading ability can impact understanding of medical instructions. One extensive study found that poor health literacy in those with chronic health conditions was associated with a lower quality of life across physical, psychological, social relationships and environmental metrics, and significantly predicted declines in all but social relationships 12 months on.  These findings compel us not to take reading skills for granted, and call for the opening of public libraries and greater funding for schools. 

From birth to death, low literacy rates haunt and harm the economy like an unwelcome spectre. On the surface, change seems fairly simplistic; eradicate child poverty and introduce educational reforms. To do so, commitment and complex new policies are required. Whether this will materialise remains unclear. Britain is at a fork in the road; to maintain its medieval reputation as a classist society where the rich remain educated and healthy, or move forward to social equity and opportunity.