Martin Lewis slams government’s ‘failure’ to fund money textbook

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Martin Lewis has accused the federal government of a “political failure” after claiming ministers refused to pay for the publication of a textbook to enhance college students’ monetary schooling.

The Money Saving Expert founder mentioned he used £325,000 of his personal money to pay for the Your Money Matters e-book after being instructed the schooling division wouldn’t stump up the funds.

Mr Lewis, who now presents a TV present advising folks on how to handle their funds, was giving proof to the Commons schooling committee on the state of monetary schooling within the UK.

The nationwide curriculum was up to date in 2014 to embody extra components of monetary literacy, notably in maths, following a profitable marketing campaign spearheaded by Mr Lewis.

Just just a few years later, Mr Lewis mentioned, no public funds had been made accessible to help studying. Mr Lewis mentioned he held conferences with the then schooling secretary Nick Gibb concerning the want for a textbook in lecture rooms to enhance studying.

But Mr Lewis mentioned he was instructed by Mr Gibb that the state wouldn’t pay for the e-book, and that he ought to contemplate masking the prices himself.

“I funded this textbook because the state wouldn’t and told me it had to be paid for by an individual,” he instructed MPs.

“That is a political failing – I could have put bias into this book.”

Your Money Matters, the primary ever monetary schooling textbook, was later printed and bodily copies have been delivered to colleges throughout the UK following a £325,000 donation by Mr Lewis.

English colleges obtained 340,000 copies, 15,450 copies have been delivered to colleges in Northern Ireland, whereas 27,000 copies have gone to colleges in Scotland, and over 16,500 copies have been delivered to colleges in Wales.

In his proof, Mr Lewis lamented the progress that has been made for the reason that curriculum was beefed up as he known as for extra academics to be educated and extra sources to be made accessible, which he mentioned would assist enhance the employment prospects of younger folks.

He additionally described getting monetary schooling onto the curriculum as a “pyrrhic victory” that was in some methods “counterproductive”.

Last month, a survey from the Money and Pensions Service prompt that greater than three in 4 academics believed most pupils left faculty with out the important thing monetary expertise wanted.

An overwhelming majority of academics within the UK thought kids needs to be taught about money earlier than they began secondary faculty, in accordance to a ballot by the government-backed physique.

Schools minister Damian Hinds, who additionally gave proof to MPs on the committee on Tuesday as a part of its inquiry into monetary schooling, thanked Mr Lewis for funding the monetary schooling textbook for college pupils.

When requested whether or not the federal government would increase monetary schooling in major colleges to attain youthful kids, Mr Hinds mentioned: “There is the non-statutory national curriculum content in citizenship, and there is the explicitly financial aspects of mathematics in infant school, as well as in juniors.”

The minister mentioned he was “content” with the maths curriculum however added that there was a “further opportunity” to simplify the method for academics on the lookout for the most effective sources for the topic.

Mr Hinds mentioned: “I want there to be more financial education. I would like for kids to say they had remembered it and had found it useful.”

The Department for Education has been contacted for remark.