Child illiteracy is to be a key area of policy for the Liberal Democrats if they remain in government, its leader has announced.

Nick Clegg said that the party will outline in its manifesto for the upcoming General Election its commitment to ending illiteracy in children by 2025.

This means that every child born after 2014 will receive the kind of education that ensures when they leave primary education – at around the time of the target date – will be able to read and writeat a high standard.

“I am proud of the scale of our ambition,” Mr Clegg, deputy prime minister said in a blog posted on his party’s official website.

“We are raising the bar on what children should be able to achieve by the age of eleven and want all children to get over the bar by 2025.

“The coalition government has cut illiteracy but it is nothing short of a national scandal that a fifth of children are still leaving primary school unable to read at a level that will allow them to succeed in later life.

The Liberal Democrats exist to build a stronger economy in a fairer society where there is opportunity for everyone and the key to that is education.”

He cited records achieved in government that demonstrate the Lib Dems' commitment to improving education, including the introduction of the pupil premium, expanding free childcare and ensuring that all infants receive a free school meal every day.

Speaking to the BBC, Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children, responded: "To see this ambition become a reality, we now need to see every party follow suit. Our children's futures, and our country's future prosperity, depend upon it."

Save the Children is spearheading a collaborative campaign to end illiteracy. Last year’s report Read On, Get On stated that the UK is at risk of a “reading crisis” if stakeholders fail to address the fact that many children are leaving primary school will substandard literacy skills.