Citizenship at Risk

1.42.53pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 7th Sep 2006

Cllr Jean Fooks is raising concerns that cuts are happening in the teaching of basic English to people living in Oxfordshire who do not have English as their first language. She has a motion to next Tuesday's County Council meeting pointing out the likely negative effect on community relations in the county.

Jean said, "The Government's short sighted emphasis on learning for work, with an emphasis on teaching at higher levels rather than basic, will badly affect the ability of residents with very little English to participate fully in Oxfordshire life.

"This helps neither social inclusion nor equality of opportunity, and will impact particularly badly on women from ethnic minorities. They need sufficient basic English, for example, to access health services - for themselves and their families - before they can even start to think about making a contribution to the local economy by being able to work. This seems to contradict the Government's own citizenship requirements."