The Prime Minister said: “It’s really important, this. It’s in the citizenship curriculum, which starts from age 11.
“We have so many people in our country who struggle with how to understand how mortgage rates and interest rates and those sorts of things work, so it’s there, and I think that’s a good thing.”
He was speaking on ITV’s This Morning, and was prompted by a question from MoneySavingExpert.com creator Martin Lewis.
Lewis, whose e-petition forced the parliamentary debate on financial education, said: “Getting financial education on the National Curriculum has been hard fought. After 21 years of educating our youth into debt when they go to university, we’re finally going to start educating them about it.
“In that time we’ve lost the stigma of borrowing and millions have got themselves into a mess, whether they’re over-borrowing on mortgages and plastic, or falling for payday lenders’ spiels.
“While the Government agreed to put financial education in the draft curriculum prior to consultation, the key is to ensure it stays there.
“That’s why I pushed for the Prime Minister to confirm whether it had watered down the plans and I’m delighted to hear it hasn’t.
“That is, of course, just the first challenge. With many academy schools no longer needing to follow the plans, there’s still a task to ensure headteachers’ desires to teach this crucial subject will be there, even when it isn’t mandatory.”
