Colleagues: attached the ministerial statement by Hayes on the Communities and Local Government Dept £10m for ESOL. Doesn’t say much than we didn’t know either about how it will be used or by whom. The devil as ever will be in the detail

 

WRITTEN MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

JOHN HAYES MINISTER OF STATE FOR FURTHER EDUCATION, SKILLS AND LIFELONG LEARNING; DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES

29 FEBRUARY 2012

I together with my hon Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Andrew Stunell OBE MP would like to update the House following my statement I made on of 18 July 2011, columns 59-60WS, on the provision of English for Speakers of Other languages (ESOL) training.

 

The written statement of 18 July 2011 stated that the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills would work with the Department for Communities and Local Government to consider additional ESOL provision for learners with no, or extremely poor, levels of spoken English, who are not in or currently actively seeking employment, and are unable to afford course fees.

 

We are therefore pleased that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will make available up to £10m in the 2011/12 Academic Year to support this additional English language training. Funding is now being offered to Further Education colleges and training providers in areas facing significant integration challenges to support the delivery of English language training

 

As set out in Creating the Conditions for Integration, published on 21st February, we believe that being able to communicate in English is vital for an individual’s personal advancement, and central to creating strong and integrated communities.

 

 

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