Axing free English lessons will 'hit workforce'

The Government is being accused of hypocrisy and short-sightedness over changes to further-education funding that will target asylum-seekers and migrant workers. Bill Rammell, the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, has come under fire from unions, charities and further-education professionals for his proposals to scrap the first-come first-served free provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), and replace it with means-tested fees.

With social cohesion at the top of the Government's agenda, and the massive influx of migrant workers, recognised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as a major source of growth in the British economy, critics believe that the plans threaten British society and prosperity. In February, 1,000 campaigners lobbied Parliament, and an Early Day Motion has attracted over 140 signatures. In a debate in the Lords, peers condemned the plans as "off the cuff" and an attack on women's and children's rights. Some surprising voices have joined the opposition, including Michael O'Higgins, chairman of the Audit Commission, and the Government's own UK Skills Envoy and former head of the Confederation of British Industry, Sir Digby Jones. "This is a damaging, retrograde step in the nation's pursuit of an integrated, productive workforce," says Sir Digby.

The plans are a response to a massive increase in demand for ESOL courses in the UK. From 2000 to 2005, ESOL provision tripled, from 160,000 to 480,000 students enrolled. But demand has outstripped supply, and waiting lists in some parts of the country run to two years. Under the proposals, to qualify for free training, migrant workers and their spouses will have to be claiming benefits or working tax credit. Asylum-seekers will be barred from funding for their first six months in the country.

To cope with the extra demand, the Government has already nearly tripled spending on ESOL, from £100m to nearly £300m a year. "Continuing growth in funding is unsustainable," says Bill Rammell. "We must focus on those who most need help with English. Learners benefiting from ESOL classes who are able to pay a contribution should do so." Employers and workers should bear the brunt of ESOL costs.

Critics say that it is exactly those people who need most help who will be hardest hit. With employers under no obligation to provide language training, they argue, it is migrant workers who will have to foot the bill. "If the hidden success of the British economy is refugees and migrant workers whose schooling was paid for in their country of origin, it's a very small amount to ask that they be topped up here with ESOL training," says Paul Mackney, joint general secretary of the University and College Union, and leading the campaign against the reforms.

Instead, from September, courses will cost from £300 for a 120-hour-a-year course, to £1,000 for a full-time course. Eighty per cent of migrant workers earn less than £6 an hour, and the UCU warns that this will be prohibitively expensive. Few of these workers are likely to claim government funding, says the UCU. Only three per cent of migrant workers who qualify for working tax credit apply for it. Many are understandably put off by the 15-page application form.

The new fees are not the only squeeze on ESOL. Colleges faced with budget cuts and rising targets in other areas are cutting courses. Hanan Omar, studying ESOL at Lambeth College, is one of the students whose courses are under threat. Omar, 30, arrived in the UK six years ago, a refugee from Somalia. For the first two years, she learnt no English and was afraid even to leave the house. If she got lost, she didn't know where she was. ESOL broadened her horizons. "I want to work," says Omar. "But I need to be able to read instructions in books and to speak properly with customers." Now, her course, which is too basic to meet funding priorities, is under threat.

Colleges are already looking at which courses will have to go. At present, Westminster Kingsway College provides ESOL training for 5,000 students, mostly migrant workers in low-paid jobs in the service industry. Over the next year, the principal Andy Wilson expects 10 per cent of that to be cut. Just as people are being priced out of ESOL training, says Wilson, the college's budget is being cut by 6.8 per cent, and he has been given a target of increased Level 2 training (NVQ 2s, equivalent to 5 GCSEs) by 38 per cent.

"The push to Level 2 training is unrealistic, especially when so many Level 2 students have ESOL needs," he says. "Even if you accept the Government's policy, the way it's being implemented isn't realistic."