Rugby’s Member of Parliament is backing National Numeracy Day on 15th May 2019, which aims to improve  numeracy rates throughout the UK.

Recent research has found that nearly half of all working age adults have the numeracy level of a primary school child. This means that they are more vulnerable to debt, unemployment, poor health and fraud and poor numeracy can even impact people’s mental health, confidence and opportunities. In the age of ‘fake news’ it’s more important than ever that people have confidence and competence with numbers.

National Numeracy Day celebrates numbers by highlighting how important being able to understand numbers is to modern life. This year, National Numeracy are calling on MPs across Parliament to talk about how valuable numeracy is to them in order to raise awareness of how a good grasp of numbers can help them succeed.

More information is available at www.numeracyday.com

Speaking in support of National Numeracy Day, Mark commented:

“Coming from a business background I know just how important basic numeracy skills are for day-to-day life. In modern life, numbers and figures are everywhere and I know from speaking to local residents that some people can find numeracy challenging, and this can really affect somebody’s employment opportunities.”

Mark continued:

“One example that has stuck with me was when I was speaking to pupils and there was some confusion over whether a high number for an APR on a loan was a good thing or not. This has demonstrated to me how important it is to help people improve their numeracy skills.”

Martin Lewis, host of the BBC’s Moneybox programme and supporter of National Numeracy, added:

“Maths is the lifeblood of good money saving, helping you understand when you’re getting a good deal and when you’re being ripped off.”