Cutting funding to English language lessons aimed at migrants is a “bizarre” decision that undermines ambitions to build cohesive communities, the skills minister has said.
Jacqui Smith told FE Week’s Apprenticeship and Training Conference that she was “concerned” by this development in Greater Lincolnshire, led by Reform UK mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
She said the government wants to look “more broadly” at English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) provision and how officials can “ensure it is available everywhere”. But she highlighted the “challenge” of adult skills funding, including ESOL, being devolved and controlled by local mayors.
At a budget meeting last Wednesday, Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority voted to scrap ESOL courses from 2027 and develop a literacy programme instead.
Jenkyns, who had a stint as skills minister in 2022 for the Conservatives before defecting to Reform, aims to redirect £1 million ESOL adult skills fund cash towards the literacy qualification to “help more adults into paid employment”.
She called the decision “a really exciting moment” and claimed leaders from other areas were interested in the development.
Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram took a swipe at Greater Lincolnshire’s decision this morning during his opening address at ATC. He said: “We’re delivering flexible, inclusive provision from entry level and ESOL courses. Yes, we still believe in this city region in ESOL, some others mightn’t.”
Skills minister Jacqui Smith was asked whether central government was concerned that funding coming from Whitehall was being politicised by parties like Reform UK.
She said: “Yes, I am concerned about it. And I speak as a former home secretary, and home secretaries aren’t notoriously soft on immigration.
“In my view, we should welcome people who have the right to come to the country. We should also ensure that they can become part of cohesive communities, that they can get jobs and contribute, and that they can speak English as part of doing that. And it seems a bit bizarre, if that’s what you believe should be happening, that you would cut the wherewithal for students and people who don’t have English as their first language to be able to do that.”
Pressed on whether the government can take any action, Smith said: “Well, we do have a challenge in that, quite rightly, we devolve responsibility for adult skills funding to mayors in order for them to be able to do precisely the sort of positive things that Steve Rotheram was talking about earlier.
“But of course, given, as I say, those broader objectives around people being able to work and being able to be part of our society, we’ll certainly want to look more broadly at ESOL provision and how we ensure it’s available everywhere.”
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