Jump directly to the content
Exclusive
MIGRANTS' ENGLISH LESSONS ROW

Sajid Javid and Philip Hammond clash over plan to force migrants to improve their language skills

A CABINET row has exploded over a Treasury bid to water down radical plans to force swathes of Britain’s isolated migrant communities to learn and improve their English, The Sun can reveal.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid wants to target poor English language skills in four sectors with high numbers of ethnic minority workers.

 Communities Sec Sajid Javid wants to target poor English language skills in four sectors
3
Communities Sec Sajid Javid wants to target poor English language skills in four sectorsCredit: PA:Press Association

But sources said Chancellor Philip Hammond tried to prevent him from fully financing extra English classes.

The row has delayed the Government’s long-awaited Integration Strategy, which is finally expected to be published next week more than 15 months after Dame Louise Casey’s hard-hitting report named English language problems as one of the biggest causes of alienation and extremism in Britain.

A Whitehall source blamed the Treasury for preventing Mr Javid from acting on the report and refusing to offer enough funds for the English classes.

The insider said: “We’ve got this really big opportunity to do something radical in this space.

 Chancellor Phil Hammond has tried to stop Javid from fully financing extra English lessons
3
Chancellor Phil Hammond has tried to stop Javid from fully financing extra English lessonsCredit: Rex Features

"If this is a big moment then we want to throw quite a lot at it but you can imagine not everybody is keen to do that. So there’s a bit of a persuasion, which is why it’s a little bit more delayed than we thought.”

Mr Javid wants cash to fund extra English classes for ethnic minorities working as social workers, in the hotel and restaurant sector, the retail and wholesale industry and transportation and storage jobs.

It comes after funding for speakers of other languages was more than halved under David Cameron’s government - dropping from £203million to £90million between 2012-2016.

 Ethnic minority workers tend to be found more in low status sectors of the economy, Dame Louise Caseys report found
3
Ethnic minority workers tend to be found more in low status sectors of the economy, Dame Louise Caseys report foundCredit: PA:Press Association

The Communities Secretary wants to reverse this funding fall by acting on Dame Casey’s year-long study into Britain’s fragmented communities that found ethnic minority workers tend to be concentrated in these low status sectors of the economy.

Her report said thousands of Muslims are completely cut-off, living in enclaves with their own housing estates, schools and television channels and rarely leaving their own neighbourhoods.

The former senior mandarin called on the Government to devise a fresh strategy to enforce “an expectation” that all foreign-born UK residents speak English as a condition of living here.

Emmanuel Macron, PM Theresa May denied Brexit weakens Britain's part of Calais deal and migrants coming to UK

 

The Government insisted that money for the Integration Strategy won’t be finalised for months and next week’s announcement will just be launching a consultation.

The strategy was discussed at Theresa May’s weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

It will also force schools with intakes from a single cultural, religious or racial background to get their pupils “to know people with different ways of life”.

The strategy will teach all pupils “pluralistic British values,” Downing Street said.

Topics
LOGO_machibet_200x200

Machibet

star star star star star 4.9/

6,000.000+downloads/Free/Bengali/Version2.3.4

777 BDT IPL 2025 Sports First Deposit Bonus

  • 5,000 BDT Daily Reload Bonus
  • Boost Your First Deposit with a 300 BDT Bonus
  • 100% First Deposit Refund Bonus up to 5,000BDT
bKash bank OK Wallet upay
PLAY NOW
Free Bonus
Download For
android