Concessions to previously announced changes to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) funding for asylum seekers and refugees were announced on Wednesday by Bill Rammell MP, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education which apply both to ESOL and wider further education (FE) courses. These are:
- after 6 months, people with an ongoing asylum claim will be eligible for Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funding
- people who have been refused, but can’t leave because of circumstances beyond their control and who are eligible for Section 4 support will receive funding for ESOL and wider FE courses.
- asylum seekers who go on a waiting list for ESOL before their 19th birthday will be eligible to take up the course if a place becomes available after they turn 19.
- the DfES will look at a wider range of evidence demonstrating low pay other than the Working Tax Credit.
The Minister also announced that he is initiating a cross Government Review group to look at activities and responsibilities in delivering support for asylum seekers and ESOL.
The Refugee Council has played a key role in highlighting the negative impact of withdrawing ESOL provision for asylum seekers. Through direct discussions with the Minister and in partnership with others through the Race Equality Impact Assessment and the UCU led Save ESOL campaign, we have consistently argued for the right to access English language support while claiming asylum and for refugees to be eligible for ESOL funding independent of their employment status.
In response to the speech, Anna Reisenberger, Acting Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, said:
‘We are very pleased the Minister has listened to evidence we and others presented and to the experiences of many learners around the country. Learning English is especially important for asylum seekers on Section 4 support, who are often in the country for many years, and are particularly excluded from society if they do not speak the language. However, we are still committed to seeing all asylum seekers being able to access ESOL from day one and refugees being eligible for free ESOL to help rebuild their lives. Anything less than this will penalise those who are the focus of the government’s integration strategy.”
