5% of the homes in the UK do not use English as a main language. This lack of English language ability among a relatively large proportion of society has caused Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary, to raise his concerns over the lack of opportunities for immigrants due to the poor standard of English language skills among much of the immigrant population. Pickles has blamed the Labour government for the situation.
Mr Pickles said: “The reality is you need English to succeed. You can’t function as a good doctor, a good teacher or a good engineer if you can’t talk the language. If your kids don’t have English, you’re condemning them to a limited life.”
The minister condemned Labour for spending £140 million on translation services while the party was in power, rather than invest in education for immigrants to help them learn English.
Mr Pickles believes that Labour’s action have ‘shut the doors of opportunity’ for many immigrants who now lack the English language skills to enable them to get on in life in the UK.
Pickles has called the situation ‘incomprehensible’ and that immigrant families should all be ‘striving’ for their children to learn the official language of the country.
Share your thoughts
With translations existing almost everywhere now, is use of the English language absolutely necessary in order to live in the UK?
Do you think immigrants to other countries should learn the host country’s language or doesn’t it matter?
It’s crazy that people live in the UK and do not know how to speak the language. Relying on translations isn’t enough – immigrants need to fit in and learn English because communication is so important to live in a country and it is only respectful to learn the language of the country where you are living. I wouldn’t go to live in France and not even try to learn French. It’s madness. Yep – Labour have messed things up again!