Almost a quarter of people in one part of Kent struggle reading prescription instructions or estimating how much petrol is in their tank, a new study suggests.

The latest modelling estimates 24% of adults in the Medway Towns lack essential literacy or numeracy skills which are necessary for everyday life.

The analysis completed by the Learning & Work Institute (L&W) says this means they may struggle to know how much petrol is in their tank by reading the gauge or understanding the instructions on a bottle of aspirin.

They also say that people with below level 2 in numeracy and literacy, which is equivalent to a pass at GCSE, can have limited problem-solving skills and may struggle adapting to new information and learning with new technology.

L&W found 9 million adults across England struggle with maths and English, and the number of adults in training for these skills has reduced by 60% over the past decade.

In Medway, L&W estimate 42,920 people may be limited in their daily lives due to poor numeracy and literacy.

They say it also prevents people from advancing their careers as jobs are becoming increasingly reliant on digital skills that are more difficult to learn if they don’t have the basics.

Medway Council says they want to encourage adults to take a look at the options available through Medway Adult Education (MAE) as they can support learning in interesting and accessible ways.

Cllr Tracy Coombs (Labour and Co-operative), portfolio holder for education, said: “Of course, there are many reasons why some people may have had difficulties with maths and literacy in the past, but we are passionate about life-long learning and committed to supporting anyone who wants to upskill.

“In Medway we want everyone to be equipped with the skills they need to help them be successful.

“Through our adult learning programme we offer a vast array of courses including essential skills, such as maths and English, as well as creative, digital, workplace skills and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses.

“Many of these are created with people who are re-entering the education system in mind, with the focus being on making learning fun so people can enjoy education whilst gaining qualifications to improve their career prospects.

“There are also specific courses aimed at those who are in work, which aim to develop new work-focused skills.

“Through MAE, we also support the government’s national maths scheme, Multiply, which offers adults who do not have a GCSE grade 4 or higher in maths free and flexible courses.

“These courses are delivered in fun ways and woven into other activities such as sewing, cooking and woodworking to demonstrate how their learning can be used in everyday life.

“Multiply is a brilliant scheme and we hope funding for this continues past its current end date of March 2025.”

In 2017, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport predicted within 20 years 90% of jobs will require basic digital skills.

The L&W report says central government will invest £1 billion less into skills in 2025 than it did in 2010 and that, with current trends, it would take 20 years for every adult to get the help they need.

The modelling looks at adults aged 16 to 64 across England and identifies areas where the need for skills training is greatest.

In Kent as a whole the study suggests 23.6% of adults, 222,496 people, lack functional literacy and numeracy skills, with the area with the highest number of adults needing better skills being Gravesham with just under 25,000 people.

Across England, the area with the lowest need for improvement is Didsbury West, Manchester, with 15% needing help, while the worst is in Heslington, York with 39% of adults lacking essential competence.