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| PM: migrant spouses who fail English test may have to leave UK | PM: migrant spouses who fail English test may have to leave UK |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Migrants who fail language tests after two and a half years in the UK may be forced to leave, David Cameron has said, as he unveiled plans to encourage greater integration of Muslim women. | Migrants who fail language tests after two and a half years in the UK may be forced to leave, David Cameron has said, as he unveiled plans to encourage greater integration of Muslim women. |
| Related: Cameron: migrants on spouse visas may have to leave if English doesn't improve - Politics live | Related: Cameron: migrants on spouse visas may have to leave if English doesn't improve - Politics live |
| When asked whether a Muslim woman who had come to the UK on a spousal visa and had children without learning the language herself could be denied leave to remain, the prime minister said there would be no guarantee that those who did not improve their English could stay. | When asked whether a Muslim woman who had come to the UK on a spousal visa and had children without learning the language herself could be denied leave to remain, the prime minister said there would be no guarantee that those who did not improve their English could stay. |
| He outlined the plan in an interview with the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, claiming there were 38,000 Muslim women who could not speak English and 190,000 with limited skills in the language. | He outlined the plan in an interview with the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, claiming there were 38,000 Muslim women who could not speak English and 190,000 with limited skills in the language. |
| Cameron said not just Muslim women, but all those who entered the UK on the five-year spousal settlement programme would soon have to sit language tests halfway through that period. | |
| “After two and half years they should be improving their English and we will be testing them,” the prime minister said. “We will bring this in in October and it will apply to people who have come in on a spousal visa recently and they will be tested.” | “After two and half years they should be improving their English and we will be testing them,” the prime minister said. “We will bring this in in October and it will apply to people who have come in on a spousal visa recently and they will be tested.” |
| Cameron stressed that he was not blaming those who could not speak English because “some of these people have come from quite patriarchal societies and perhaps the menfolk haven’t wanted them to speak English”. | Cameron stressed that he was not blaming those who could not speak English because “some of these people have come from quite patriarchal societies and perhaps the menfolk haven’t wanted them to speak English”. |
| But when questioned about whether they would be asked to leave the country if they failed to start learning the language, he said that was possible as “people coming to our country have responsibilities too”. | But when questioned about whether they would be asked to leave the country if they failed to start learning the language, he said that was possible as “people coming to our country have responsibilities too”. |
| “They can’t guarantee they will be able to stay, because under our rules you have to be able to speak a basic level of English to come into the country as a husband or wife. We made that change already, and we are now going to toughen that up, so halfway through the five-year spousal settlement there will be another opportunity to make sure your English is improving. You can’t guarantee you can stay if you are not improving your language.” | “They can’t guarantee they will be able to stay, because under our rules you have to be able to speak a basic level of English to come into the country as a husband or wife. We made that change already, and we are now going to toughen that up, so halfway through the five-year spousal settlement there will be another opportunity to make sure your English is improving. You can’t guarantee you can stay if you are not improving your language.” |
| Related: Muslim women to be taught English in £20m plan to beat 'backward attitudes' | Related: Muslim women to be taught English in £20m plan to beat 'backward attitudes' |
| Cameron defended his plan to launch a £20m language fund to help Muslim women unable to speak English. He had overseen cuts to funding for language lessons for immigrants. | |
| Earlier, he called for an end to the “passive tolerance” of separate communities which left many Muslim women facing discrimination and social isolation. | Earlier, he called for an end to the “passive tolerance” of separate communities which left many Muslim women facing discrimination and social isolation. |
| The prime minister said he would not avoid telling the “hard truths” required to confront the minority of Muslim men whose “backward attitudes” led them to exert “damaging control” over women in their families. | The prime minister said he would not avoid telling the “hard truths” required to confront the minority of Muslim men whose “backward attitudes” led them to exert “damaging control” over women in their families. |
| “All too often, because of what I would call ‘passive tolerance’, people subscribe to the flawed idea of separate development,” he wrote in the Times. | “All too often, because of what I would call ‘passive tolerance’, people subscribe to the flawed idea of separate development,” he wrote in the Times. |
| “It is time to change our approach. We will never truly build One Nation unless we are more assertive about our liberal values, more clear about the expectations we place on those who come to live here and build our country together, and are more creative and generous in the work we do to break down barriers.” | “It is time to change our approach. We will never truly build One Nation unless we are more assertive about our liberal values, more clear about the expectations we place on those who come to live here and build our country together, and are more creative and generous in the work we do to break down barriers.” |
| Related: Lords’ opportunity to ensure vulnerable young migrants in the UK are protected | Letter | |
| The new English language scheme would try to reach the most isolated women, targeting specific communities based on the ongoing review into segregation being carried out by Louise Casey, the head of the government’s troubled families unit. | |
| Classes would be held in homes, schools and community centres, with travel and childcare costs provided to encourage participation. | Classes would be held in homes, schools and community centres, with travel and childcare costs provided to encourage participation. |
| Cameron said all public services, including nurseries, schools, health visiting and job centres, needed to play a part in tackling “prejudice and bigotry” and building integration. | Cameron said all public services, including nurseries, schools, health visiting and job centres, needed to play a part in tackling “prejudice and bigotry” and building integration. |