Not speaking English is the single biggest barrier to successful
integration - Darra Singh
Darra Singh, Chair of the Commission on Integration and Cohesion (CIC)
said today that not speaking English is the single biggest barrier to
successful integration and cohesion, as he outlined some of the views that
his Commission has encountered so far in an interim statement.
The Commission on Integration and Cohesion, which has been tasked by
Government to look at local and practical solutions to overcoming the
barriers to integration and cohesion, will deliver their final report to
Communities Secretary, Ruth Kelly in June. The final report will
include local examples that seek to identify the successful ingredients of
cohesive places across England.
Today's interim statement provides an update on the key themes of the
Commission's discussions so far, and prepares the ground for that
increased local focus over the next three months.
Darra Singh said,
"Learning English is clearly the responsibility of the individual, but
local authorities, central government and employers have a key role in
supporting migrants to improve their language skills. Translation
should never be a substitute for learning English in the first place."
New MORI research produced on behalf of the Commission found that 60 per
cent of the people surveyed agreed that the biggest barrier to "being
English" was not speaking the language.
Mr Singh said,
"Just as mastering reading and writing for school children opens up
the rest of the curriculum, mastering English opens up participation in
British society and accessing employment. If you can’t speak English -
whether you are a new migrant or someone who has lived here for years - you
are on a path to isolation and separation.
"Those who can't speak English find other ways of getting by and
if English is not learnt quickly then the chance of ever learning the
language diminishes rapidly. I want to see what innovative schemes
across the country are doing to combat this.
"I also want to see how communities themselves are taking
action. It is amongst first generation immigrants and newly arrived
economic migrants that the issue seems most acute - it is less of a
problem for second, third, fourth generations. Language support
offered to spouses from abroad is therefore of real interest to me -
should we be asking whether they should speak English before they
arrive?"
The Commission's final report will be published in June 2007 and will
make recommendations for how to break down local barriers to
integration. This will include support for language skills, as well as
a wider assessment of where local areas and employers are already
delivering excellent services.
The Commission has been focussing on two key questions in relation to
language learning.
Should there be a greater onus/more support for employers to
provide language courses?
Whilst many migrants may want to learn a language the reality of the
working day for many migrants means there may not always be sufficient
time. A number of employers have brought language learning in house,
providing these classes to employees during the working day. There are
early and positive signs of wider community benefits from these schemes in
helping individuals and their families settle and integrate and the
Commission is keen to see how this might be extended more widely.
Are translation services helping or hindering integration?
There are instances where newly arrived migrants require translation
services. It can make taking part in the life of the wider community
easier, and can protect vulnerable groups within communities. But
translation services should be there to help people adapt, not replace
learning the language. If they are provided for too long, they can
become a crutch for people to get by without learning the English they need
to integrate successfully. The Commission plans to produce guidance for
local authorities that will set out the key questions that should be asked
when deciding whether to produce translation materials.
But, Darra Singh also states that he personally believes there is a third
question which the Commission may want to consider in relation to speaking
English.
Should there be a requirement for spouses to learn English before
arriving in UK?
Where UK residents who have limited English language skills (or only speak
English outside the home) choose to marry non-English speaking spouses from
abroad, there are real difficulties in breaking down the language barrier.
Family units are formed from individuals who never get to the point of
speaking English fluently and therefore have little opportunity to
integrate. The commission is seeking views on how best to encourage spouses
and other key groups to speak English.
Commissioners are keen to stress that the overall picture is not
bleak. While they are hearing about problems with cohesion in some
areas, one of the key and very positive messages so far is that people
believe that they are living together with a good level of tolerance and
that tension is overstated as far as their own neighbourhoods are
concerned.
The CIC Mori poll, which sampled 1,000 people in Britain of 16 years and
over, confirmed that:
-
82 per cent of people were proud of their local neighbourhood - and
57 per cent of those said it was their neighbours and the people that
lived nearby that made it a place to be proud of.
-
Difference in ethnic/ faith background was not an immediate barrier to
neighbourhood pride: the 18 per cent who were not proud of their
neighbourhood said that the key problems were young people hanging around
(31 per cent); high crime rate (22 per cent) and lack of community spirit
(19 per cent).
-
The key reason for some communities getting on better than others was
friendliness of people or neighbours (65 per cent).
The Commission's polling also highlighted key opportunities for
interaction across communities, including:
-
an opportunity to improve the value of everyday interactions in schools
and workplaces - responding to the MORI finding that 32 per cent of
people already had daily contact with other ethnic groups at work, school
or college.
-
an opportunity to foster more sustainable interactions outside of these
formal settings, given that 42 per cent of people indicated that they
mixed socially with people of other ethnic groups less than once a year
at home, and only 33 per cent of people surveyed had mixed socially
outside work or school with people of different ethnic groups from
themselves.
When individuals were asked what they thought would encourage more mixing
between people of different groups, 47 per cent said going to school,
college or work together. Commissioners believe therefore that mixing
of identities at school, college and in the workplace is a key factor in
successful integration and cohesion.
View the Interim
Statement.
Notes to Editors
This Press Notice applies to England
1. The Commission is an independent body chaired by Darra Singh, Chief
Executive of Ealing Council, set up by Communities and Local Government in
August 2006.
2. The Commission will report back to Secretary of State, Ruth Kelly in
June 2007.
3. Darra Singh was appointed chair of the Commission in June 2006.
The other 13 commissioners were announced on 24 August 2006. They
are:
Michael Keith, Nargis Khan, Hamza Vayani, Leonie McCarthy, Frank Hont,
Harriet Crabtree, Ed Cox, Sam Tedcastle, Steve Jordan, Decima Francis,
Steve Douglas, Ebrahim Adia, Ramesh Kallidai.
The Commission is currently undertaking a significant programme of
consultation and public meetings and events across the country and have so
far visited communities in the North East and the Midlands. Further
outreach visits are planned in March 2007.
4. Today's news release is issued by the Commmission on Integration and
Cohesion via the Communities and Local Government media network.
Press Enquiries: 020 7944 8033 Out of Hours: 020 7944 5945
E-mail: press.office@communities.gov.ukPublic
Enquiries: 020 7944 4400
Communities and Local Government Website: http://www.communities.gov.uk
