English lessons for jobless slammed

The Government has come under fire after warning that unemployment benefits could be cut for people who refuse to learn English.

Around 40,000 jobless people were being denied an opportunity to work because they did not have language skills, according to welfare minister Jim Murphy.

He said greater emphasis will be put on helping people in England tackle language barriers.

Mr Murphy said changes were needed because it was "unacceptable" that ethnic minorities earned a third less than other workers.

But Anna Reisenberger, acting chief executive of the Refugee Council said: "The Government's policy relating to learning English doesn't seem to add up. On the one hand, ministers want to penalise people for not learning English, yet as of April they are removing access to free English classes for many people who want to learn the language, including asylum seekers and refugees.

"We agree with the government that learning English is key to successfully integrating into this country. But if the government is so keen for people to be improving their language skills, they should be focusing their efforts on ensuring that everybody has the opportunity to have English classes."

Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman David Laws said: "It makes sense to ensure that people seeking employment have the basic skills necessary to get jobs, including speaking the language.

"However, it is ironic that the Government is seeking to introduce this change at the same time as education ministers are cutting back on the provision of classes for those without English as a first language.

"What is happening here seems to be the perfect example of unjoined-up government.

"If these changes are going to be introduced, then there needs to be free or low-cost language training available in a way that's not presently planned."