Multiply represents a menu of interventions for local areas to draw on and tailor to the local context, writes Alex Stevenson
Multiply, the government’s new £560 million adult numeracy programme, is a rare new spending boost for adult essential skills.
As mayoral combined authorities and upper-tier local authorities across England write their investment plans, it’s timely to think about how the programme can achieve maximum impact.
Funding for adult learning and skills via the adult education budget has fallen from £2.8 billion in 2011/12 to around £1.5 billion today, a real-terms cut of over 50 per cent. Rising inflation is now set to reduce its real value further.
While Multiply money is certainly welcome, it only represents a fraction of what has been lost in investment and learning opportunities.
