MPs AND peers yesterday launched a poisonous attack on people coming to live in the UK.
A new report says that ‘migrants’ should be ‘obliged’ to learn English before they come to the UK or soon after they arrive. The interim report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on ‘Social Integration’ went even further.
It went on to urge the government to: ‘Enable nations and regions to set regional immigration quotas which would create new incentives for politicians to actively make the case for immigration in their area.’
In other words, each region would set a quota for the amount of people from other countries that they will accept into their communities. This, the report states, would mean the introduction of ‘region specific visas’.
Each region would then have quotas for how many ‘regional visas’ are issued. Director of Refugee Action Kingston, Sanja Djeric-Kane, told News Line: ‘I do not think “regional quotas” will work, people go where their families are, where their communities are and where the jobs are.
‘This report is bowing to pressure to control immigration. People who are offered or who are seeking asylum should not be conditioned by anything. No conditions should be put in their way if they are looking for security and protection within the UK.
‘By calling everyone “migrants” is putting refugees and asylum seekers under the same roof, making it even more difficult for them to exercise their human rights: to claim asylum in a country where they feel that they should be protected.’
Dorus Ullah, a former mayor of Tower Hamlets commented: ‘This will have a huge impact on people coming over to their loved ones. Especially those people coming over from a village, they are not often very literate, therefore learning English as a second language is extremely difficult for them.’
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: ‘Substantial cuts have seen ESOL classes up and down the country forced to close, depriving immigrants of the opportunity to learn English.
‘Only by resurrecting ESOL courses with decent investment can we hope to encourage language learning for immigrants and improve integration and social cohesion in 21st century Britain.’
Stephen Hale, chief executive of Refugee Action, says: ‘Funding for English classes has been cut by more than half since 2009. Refugees are determined to learn English to enable them to contribute to their new communities through work, volunteering and socialising with their neighbours. They feel deeply frustrated by the lack of classes available.’
Refugee Council Director of Advocacy Dr Lisa Doyle said: ‘How are people going to access English lessons in the face of swingeing cuts to ESOL provision, it’s vital any integration strategy also addresses specific challenges faced by specific groups, such as refugees, who have to overcome homelessness and destitution before even being able to think about rebuilding their lives.’
