Immigrants must learn English, says David Cameron – while cutting funding for lessons

The Prime Minister’s speech indicates that he cares less about integration than about reaching out t

Hot on the heels of his controversial address on multiculturalism in Munich in February, David Cameron is set to deliver another hard-hitting speech, this one specifically on immigration.

He will criticise the “largest influx” ever of immigrants in British history and emphasise the need for immigrants to speak English:

Real integration takes time. That’s why, when there have been significant numbers of new people arriving in neighbourhoods perhaps not able to speak the same language as those living there, on occasions not really wanting or even willing to integrate, that has created a kind of discomfort and disjointedness in some neighbourhoods.

There is rather a cruel irony in this, given that the government will be drastically cutting funding for English as a Second Language (Esol) courses from September this year.

Under new rules, free places will be limited to students who are on jobseeker’s allowance or employment support allowance – benefits paid to those actively seeking work.

At present, people who receive other benefits, such as housing benefit, income support or tax credits are also eligible for free lessons. From September, this will no longer be the case. State funding for Esol courses within the workplace will also end, leaving employers to pay.

The Institute of Race Relations noted in December:

There is concern that these changes are being introduced with no evidence of prior consultation, and without any assessment of their impact on people from migrant communities.

It is widely acknowledged that English language proficiency is crucial to participation in the labour market, for accessing services, and to functioning independently in everyday life. In consequence, the effects of cutting language provision will be widely felt. Early local impact assessments indicate cuts in core provision of up to 50 per cent.

Newspaper reports of Cameron’s speech have focused on a widening gulf in the language used by the two coalition parties on this subject (a senior Lib Dem has described the tone of the speech as “appalling”). However, this basic contradiction indicates that Cameron cares less about encouraging integration than reaching out to the core Conservative vote with hardline rhetoric ahead of the local elections.