Campaign response: Let refugees learn - please write to the education secretary

As we celebrated Refugee Week last week a number of constituents wrote to me to ask if I would write to the Education Secretary to ensure that all refugees can access a minimum of eight hours a week of formal, accredited English language teaching for their first two years in the UK.

I am glad that the government ministers have recently said, in response to a parliamentary question on this issue, that it "recognises that learning English is essential in enabling refugees to rebuild their lives", and that work is being done across departments to "develop a new strategy for English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) in 2019, which will provide a shared vision for all publicly funded English language provision, including addressing the needs of refugees".

One way in which ESOL providers are able to provide classes to refugees is through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), which the Government allocates to providers on an annual basis. Colleges and adult learning providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB allocation to meet the needs of their communities and this includes planning, with local partners, the ESOL courses that they will deliver locally.

In addition, the Home Office and the Department for Education have also provided £10 million to enable refugees resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme to access additional classes.

I agree with constituents that English language learning is the key to successful integration of refugees and migrants into local communities.

Instead of writing to the Education Secretary, I will be seeking to speak to him directly about this issue when I next see him and ask him what further actions his department is taking to ensure that all refugees have the chance to receive a minimum of eight hours of ESOL education at the start of their resettlement process into the UK.