Adults looking to improve their numeracy skills are set to benefit from a £270 million investment in new courses, helping to level up opportunities for more people to progress and get good, well-paid jobs.

Around 17 million adults in England – half of the working-age population – have the numeracy skills of primary school children. Poor numeracy skills can hold people back from having the confidence to get on in life and into work.

Those who improve their numeracy skills are more likely to be in employment, have higher wages, and better wellbeing.

Local councils and mayoral combined authorities across England will receive the cash boost ahead of the rollout of the government’s flagship Multiply programme this autumn.

Multiply will offer adults who do not already have a GCSE grade C/4 or higher in Maths or equivalent, and need to improve their numeracy, free flexible courses that fit around their lives. Courses are expected to be available this autumn in person or online, at work or at home, and either on a part time or intensive basis. These courses will equip adults across the UK with the numeracy skills they need to fulfil their potential.

Employers who could benefit from boosting their workforce’s skills will be able to work with their Local Authority and training providers to deliver Maths GCSEs or work-ready Functional Skills Qualifications as well as design and deliver bespoke programmes for their workforce – at no cost to them.

Minister for Skills Alex Burghart said:

As the son of a maths teacher, I know that, with the right support, everyone can do maths. That is why making sure everyone has good maths and numeracy skills is central to the mission of this government.

Poor numeracy holds people back in their lives and careers. Multiply will be a launchpad for people to progress into better paid jobs that will help our economy grow.

This £270 million of government funding will unlock potential and level up opportunities for people across the country. We will give this money to local areas based on need so they can find the right solutions for their communities.

There is already help available for adults to improve maths and numeracy skills including fully funded maths courses up to GCSE to enable people to get the maths skills they need.

Multiply will build on this by offering a range of free training options helping people to build their confidence with maths in their everyday and working lives.

Businesses that develop their employees’ numeracy skills can also boost productivity, increase profits and improve employee retention. Research shows that sectors with a high proportion of workers with basic or advanced numeracy skills have experienced the most rapid growth in employment over the last decade.

The funding announced today for England is part of a £2.6 billion investment through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which is designed to help spread opportunity and level up the country. Up to £559 million in total from Fund will be invested across the UK to support the delivery of the government’s Multiply programme.

• All local authorities will receive additional funding as part of the Drugs Strategy’s record £780 million investment to rebuild the drug treatment & recovery system
• Additionally, 50 of most deprived areas in England will receive significantly more funding in 22/23 to enhance their drug and alcohol treatment services
• Record levels of funding will help achieve government’s 10 year strategy to tackle drug crime, boost treatment and level up the country
• Enhancing existing Project ADDER sites to increase engagement with rehabilitation, treatment and recovery services

Communities in England most affected by drug related crime and addiction will receive over £300 million of additional funding over the next three years to strengthen treatment and recovery services.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid has today (Wednesday 13 April) announced the first 50 local authorities across England to receive extra funding which will go towards improving access to drug and alcohol addiction treatment and increasing the capacity of services. This will help to reverse the upward trend in drug use by tackling this major driver of crime which disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable and poorest communities.

All of England will benefit from an uplift in funding for their treatment and recovery services, with the first 50 local authorities receiving enhanced funding in 2022/23.

This is part of the largest ever investment in drug treatment and recovery services announced in December, with £780 million over 3-years in addition to what is invested in drug and alcohol treatment from the Public Health Grant – to help drug users access treatment and reduce crime within communities as part of the new 10-year Drug Strategy. It is significant step towards meeting the ambitions in the strategy, to prevent nearly 1,000 drug-related deaths, deliver 54,500 new high-quality treatment places and prevent a quarter of a million crimes, and towards achieving Dame Carol Black’s vision for world-class drug treatment and recovery systems.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, said:

This is a significant step in our commitment to rebuild the drug treatment system, save lives and level up the country.

We’re investing a record amount in treatment services and ensuring some of the most deprived areas in England are first in line for this funding, to support the most vulnerable by cutting drug use.

Treatment is just one element of our far-reaching strategy to better rehabilitate drug users – whether it’s helping people get jobs, creating a stable home or cracking down on supply.

The initial local authorities assessed as having the greatest need to combat illicit drugs and the misery they cause, include areas in County Durham, Leeds, Birmingham and Devon.

Kit Malthouse, Combating Drugs Minister, said:

Aside from the personal misery and degradation, drugs are behind almost half of all burglaries and robberies, and drive violence and murder in too many neighbourhoods.

We must maintain focus on the Prime Minister’s overall aim to reduce crime that blights our cities and towns, and the best way to do this is to work together to reduce homelessness, drug use and drug deaths. We will build on our work in the current Project ADDER locations, adding yet more heft to existing sites to accelerate the turnaround for addicts and their neighbours.

Dame Carol Black said:

Misuse of drugs leads to enormous human tragedy – for individuals, their families and their communities. This new government investment will transform services combatting substance misuse, providing people with high quality treatment and support for recovery.

It is encouraging that on top of the additional funding for all local authorities, the 50 authorities most in need will be given further money to support their treatment programmes. This is crucial to rebuilding the treatment and recovery workforce and enable harm caused by drug misuse in our most deprived areas to be reduced.

In addition, the government has set out plans for more intensive oversight by the criminal justice system through enhancing Project ADDER.

Launched in November 2020, Project ADDER is already delivering a whole system approach to tackle drug misuse in 13 of the hardest hit local authorities in England and Wales – joining up enforcement, treatment and recovery. The programme has already shown signs of success, contributing to 600 organised crime disruptions,10,500 arrests and 13,400 drug treatment interventions carried out by outreach workers. This innovative approach involves working in conjunction with local partners to enhance the programme to ensure treatment, accommodation and employment support is as joined up as possible around individuals with opioid and crack cocaine addiction.

Building on the success of the programme to date, a package of coordinated support will be provided to every opiate and crack cocaine user in ADDER areas in England, backed by incentives and consequences within the criminal justice system to increase engagement in rehabilitation, treatment and recovery services. New plans mean those who are involved in crime will have more intensive oversight by the criminal justice system. For example, offenders who commit neighbourhood crime (burglary, robbery, theft from the person and vehicle theft) will be subject to joint probation and police supervision with increased frequency of contact with the offender, and improved information sharing between organisations to monitor compliance.

Plans include:

• Piloting local drugs partnerships which aim to ensure every opiate and crack cocaine user is offered drug treatment support, accommodation, education and employment support.
• Preventing a ‘cliff edge’ and support ending when offenders leave statutory probation supervision to ensure they receive continued help.
• Trialling co-ordination of all local services around the individual drug user.
• Bringing prolific offenders into local Integrated Offender Management schemes to ensure increased levels of oversight and rehabilitation support in line with the Integrated Offender Management Strategy to reduce neighbourhood crime.
• Taking a tougher approach to drug-related reoffending, including through greater use of community sentences with drug rehabilitation requirements, drug testing and stronger electronic monitoring options available.

Background information

• All of England will benefit from an uplift in funding for their treatment and recovery services, with the first 50 local authorities receiving enhanced funding in 2022/23. The second tranche of enhanced funding for the next 50 LAs will follow in 2023-24 and the third will be in 2024-25.
• Every area will also benefit from employment support provided alongside clinical treatment, with additional funding over the next three years to boost the individual placement and support programme. This is already available in 45 local authorities, and will be expanded alongside this new investment.
• The government will also develop a new set of local and national outcomes frameworks to measure progress against the key strategic aims through which government and public services can be held to account at both national and local levels.
• The list of eligible LAs and funding breakdown can be found on gov.uk
• The Drug Strategy was published in December 2021

HGV drivers will benefit from £20 million to improve roadside facilities, as part of continued government action with industry to boost driver welfare and tackle the effects of the global driver shortage in the UK.

The funding is part of National Highways’ existing £169 million Users and Communities Fund, and will go specifically towards improving security, showers and eating facilities as well as exploring increasing parking spaces for lorry drivers. Roadside service operators are being encouraged to apply for the multimillion-pound fund immediately.

It means the government has now taken 33 actions to support the sector and address a shortage of HGV drivers affecting countries around the world.

The funding takes the total government investment in driver facilities to £52.5 million since last year. £32.5 million was previously committed in the Chancellor’s budget to provide better facilities right across the country for HGV drivers, to drive up standards and further safeguard driver comfort and safety.

Roads Minister Baroness Vere said:

HGV drivers play a key role in keeping our nation running and contributing to the economy, and it is vital they feel safe and comfortable wherever they stop.

That’s why we’re allocating £20 million to ramp up security and improve amenities for drivers – building on the raft of measures we’ve already taken to support the industry.

We’ll continue to work closely with the sector to boost professional driver numbers even further.

Nick Harris, National Highways Chief Executive, said:

We want all road users to reach their destination safely and encourage everyone, from those who drive as a profession through to people traveling on holiday or for leisure purposes, to plan ahead before setting off and to take regular breaks.

We are dedicated to improving the experience of everyone using our roads and remain committed to working closely with operators of roadside facilities to help improve the standard of parking and other amenities they provide on motorways and major A-roads. We are hopeful that the £20 million being announced today will go some way towards achieving this goal.

A Logistics UK Skills Report 2021 revealed significant steps have been taken by both government and industry to help address recruitment issues that have plagued the sector for years.

Among other measures already taken to support the haulage industry:

Thanks to the measures taken, over the last 6 months DVLA processed more than 240,000 vocational (bus and lorry) licence applications, and in December 2021 they issued 150% more provisional vocational driving licences (14,210 in total) than in the equivalent pre-pandemic month in December 2019.

There are also no delays in the processing of vocational driving licences, with routine applications being processed within normal turnaround times of 5 working days.

Meanwhile, DVSA carried out an unprecedented 27,144 HGV driving tests between October and December last year compared to the same period in 2019 when 17,685 HGV tests were carried out.

Ken McMeikan, CEO of Moto hospitality said:

This announcement is a welcome boost for the UK’s hardworking HGV drivers and the sector. It is encouraging to see that the input provided by Moto and other industry figures have been acknowledged and acted upon by the Department for Transport.

Moto continually invests in refurbishing and cleaning the services we provide for HGV drivers and has been investing £12.5 million in upgrading all our showers and toilet facilities.

We look forward to making an application to this £20 million fund, which would allow us to accelerate our plans for enhanced security and increase the physical number of showers we can offer.

Mags Simpson, Logistics UK’s Head of Policy Engagement:

The announcement of an additional £20 million to boost HGV driver facilities is a positive step forward for industry, and Logistics UK is now calling on roadside service operators to urgently apply for funding.

Logistics UK members have previously cited the lack of available lorry parking and suitable roadside facilities as one of the main barriers to recruitment and as a result, an increase in funding for this vital sector of the economy is much welcomed news. Lorry drivers are required by law to take regular rest periods, including overnight mandated rest breaks.

It is vital that these key workers, who are charged with keeping the nation stocked with all its required goods, have a safe place to take these breaks, where they are also able to make use of much needed bathroom and catering facilities.

The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS) has relaunched today (13 April) to help support the long-term sustainability, resilience, and prosperity of the seafood sector across England.

Following the initial success of the scheme, which first opened last year, at least £6 million in funding has been secured every year until April 2025, providing long term investment to the sector.

The scheme will continue to fund projects that boost business resilience and increase sustainability across our world-class fishing industry, further strengthening support for food producers across the catching, processing and aquaculture sectors.

This builds on the work of the first year of the scheme, which saw more than 500 projects approved for a range of seafood and marine businesses, charities and other organisations.

Improvements this year include simplified guidance, enhanced levels of funding for micro-entities and funding that is better targeted at the sector’s needs.

Regular reviews will ensure FaSS continues to evolve over the next three years to reflect feedback from across the sector, evolving policies and the needs of the industry.

The scheme will continue to be administered by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of Defra. The MMO has a team ready to provide advice and support to potential applicants.

Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis said:

The Fisheries and Seafood Scheme has already approved 500 projects for funding across our sector. Through the scheme, we are better able to target support and invest in projects that champion the seafood sector and support its long-term sustainability.

We have expanded the scheme until 2025, providing a welcome boost for coastal communities around the country. I urge all eligible organisations to apply.

Tom McCormack, Chief Executive Officer of the MMO, said:

The MMO wants our fishing and seafood sectors to continue to develop, adapt and ultimately succeed as we move forward into our new era as an independent coastal state.

We look forward to working with applicants from across England and supporting our fishing and seafood communities through the continuation of the already successful Fisheries and Seafood Scheme

Defra and the MMO will continue to work with industry to provide financial assistance through the FaSS to deliver sustainable growth in the catching, processing and aquaculture sectors, boosting coastal businesses and communities. In addition, FaSS will also deliver some funding thorough more flexible calls for projects, based on specific policies.

For projects which last less than a year, the MMO recommends that applicants aim to complete their project within the same financial year as application. To ensure long-term support is delivered to the sector, the FaSS will now also support multi-annual projects which can be completed up until the end of February 2025.

Notes to editors: 

• The scheme draws on the £13.5 million allocated annually to the sector in England through the recent three-year spending review settlement. This covers grants, technical assistance, the data collection framework and control and enforcement.

• The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will announce their own schemes in due course. 

• Further detail on the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme can be found on the scheme webpage.

• Organisations in arts, culture, sport, civil society, youth and heritage to benefit from the £4.6 million fund
• Funding to increase volunteering opportunities for young people and those who experience barriers to accessing volunteering

Thousands of young people, people with disabilities and those experiencing loneliness will get the opportunity to volunteer and help others thanks to £4.6 million in government investment.

More than 160 community organisations will be able to support 7,800 new volunteering opportunities over the next two years as the government confirms the beneficiaries of the Volunteering Futures Fund.

The fund was launched last year and will be distributed by Arts Council England (ACE). It will break down barriers to volunteering and enable organisations across the arts, culture, sport, civil society, youth and heritage sectors to continue their valuable work within local communities while volunteers enjoy the personal benefits of making a difference.

ACE has awarded funding to organisations including colleges, local councils, schools, health and wellbeing organisations in response to demand from a wide range of beneficiaries such as people experiencing loneliness or social isolation, young people in the LGBTQ community, and people with learning difficulties and complex needs.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said:

Volunteering offers a wealth of benefits to those involved and the organisations which rely on the help.

Our new support will deliver a step-change for those who may be isolated, lonely or experiencing any number of potential barriers to getting involved in volunteering.

More than 160 organisations across the country will benefit and we will see better collaboration between local councils, the public sector and civil society.

Beneficiaries of the Volunteering Futures Fund include:

The Bureau Centre for the Arts in Blackburn and Darwen, which will be able to roll out a new two-year programme to engage hundreds of local young people in culture, sport and heritage volunteering. It will result in a digital portfolio toolkit that can be replicated in other towns. The centre will work with Blackburn Rovers Community Trust, Blackburn Museum, Blackburn with Darwen Library Service, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Blackburn Festival of Light, Blackburn Youth Zone with 11 other partners.

The Festival of Thrift in Redcar will deliver a collaborative volunteer recruitment, training and development programme covering music, visual arts and performance. It will enable greater volunteering capacity across the Tees Valley in a safe, supported way,providing opportunities for progression and a shared experience. It will work with BloominArt, Curious Arts, Hartlepool Waterfront Festival, Stellar Projects and eight other partners.

Barnsley Museums will establish new partnerships between local stakeholders in Barnsley to offer new, high quality volunteer opportunities. It will develop skills and address loneliness and isolation and prioritise those most in need who face barriers to participation. Barnsley Museums will work with Feels Like Home, Barnsley College and Inclusion in Action among other partners.

Other beneficiaries include museums in Cumbria, Birmingham and Tyne and Wear. The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games festival and cultural festivals in Brighton and Cleveland will also benefit, as will local authorities in Bassetlaw, Hertfordshire and the Midlands.

The first round of the Volunteering Futures Fund already up and running through government and Pears and NHS Charities Together funding include Sense, a national disability charity that has launched a Virtual Buddy Scheme which pairs those with complex disabilities with a volunteer.

In addition, the Birmingham Community Healthcare Charity and Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are currently developing volunteering opportunities for young people including improving digital skills and testing new approaches to volunteering to further expand opportunities through the fund.

Grants of £100,000 or more have been awarded following an ACE competitive process launched in November 2021. There are 19 lead organisations that will work with more than 160 partner organisations to deliver volunteering opportunities at a local level across England.

An additional £2.2 million is being distributed by Pears Foundation and NHS Charities Together.

Darren Henley, CEO of Arts Council England said:

There’s an abundance of evidence to show that volunteering can be a key factor in helping people lead happier lives.

This new investment will enrich villages, towns and cities across England, increasing health and well-being and decreasing loneliness and isolation.

Cath Ford, Director of The Bureau Centre for the Arts said:

We have one of the youngest populations in Europe, and this funding will enable us to work with our local partners to provide young people with training, mentoring and a range of opportunities to volunteer across the borough.

This is an investment in our borough’s future, an opportunity to actively engage more young people in culture, sport and heritage, helping them to discover their passions, contribute to their community and develop future leaders.”

Emma Whitenstall and Stella Hall – CoDirectors Festival of Thrift said:

We are overjoyed to receive this funding at such a challenging time for many people! The past ten years have seen Festival of Thrift expand from an annual weekend event into an amazing year-round programme of activities focusing on sustainability.

We are delighted to be working with our partners at the Tees Valley Festivals Network to deliver this volunteering project to offer people living in Tees Valley new training and skills opportunities that are directly linked to some of the best events and festivals in the UK.

Lynn Dunning, Head of Barnsley Museums, said:

Volunteering is vital to the cultural sector and offers huge advantages to both the individual and the organisation. This funding will allow us to establish high quality volunteering opportunities that will offer personal and lifelong benefits to those taking part.

They will develop new skills, offer avenues into work, support health and wellbeing and boost confidence. Doing so in collaboration with a range of community partners and lived experience.

We really want to showcase the impacts that volunteering can have and also how Culture can really add value to lives and communities.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The first round of Volunteering Futures Fund grants was launched in September 2021 when DCMS ran a competition for matched funders here.

2. The second round of Volunteering Futures Fund grants was launched by Arts Council England in November 2021 here.

3. Further details of Volunteering Futures Fund grants awarded by Pears Foundation here.

4. Further details of Volunteering Futures Fund grants awarded by NHS Charities Together here.

5. A full list if the 19 lead organisations receiving VFF funding is below:

Headline data for Volunteering Futures Fund

Total awarded organisations: 19 Total amount awarded: £4,650,483

Awards