The Chancellor is right that to improve productivity, weaknesses in the economy need to be addressed. However, without a focus on skills, we're not going to see the step change in growth that's needed. Our analysis shows that Government is on course to invest £1bn less in skills in England in 2025 than in 2010, but increasing adult skills attainment back to 2010 levels could boost the economy by £20bn. This includes improving literacy and numeracy for the 9 million people without these basic skills, ensuring people can successfully change careers through their working lives, and supporting people who are not working, and not looking for work, back into good jobs. The scale of the challenge is great, but so too is the prize for addressing these issues. We look forward to hearing more about the Chancellor’s plan for achieving prosperity and growth.