The government is committed to tackling loneliness and published its first loneliness strategy on 15 October 2018, bringing together the government, local government, public services, the voluntary and community sector and businesses to identify opportunities to tackle loneliness and build more integrated communities.<\/p>
The government recognises that learning English is essential in enabling refugees to rebuild their lives. We are working closely across government 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.<\/p>
We know that language skills are crucial to help people integrate into life in England, as well as to break down barriers to work and career progression. This is why we support adults in England through the Adult Education Budget to secure the English language skills they need. 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.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1523", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Anne Milton"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Guildford"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Anne Milton"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-06-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-06-20T12:53:28.233Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-06-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "English Language: Refugees"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of access to English language classes to reduce levels of loneliness among resettled refugees.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4641", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Alex Norris"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Nottingham North"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Alex Norris"} ], "uin" : "265589"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1132536", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1132536/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The government recognises that learning English is essential in enabling refugees to rebuild their lives. We are working across government 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.<\/p>
The department funds ESOL through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), which is allocated 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. The AEB also provides additional support for learners who face specific financial hardship, which is preventing them from taking part or continuing in learning.<\/p>
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.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1523", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Anne Milton"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Guildford"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Anne Milton"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-06-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-06-20T12:50:01.587Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-06-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "English Language: Refugees"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all refugees who come to the UK are provided with English language education at the earliest opportunity.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4463", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Stephens"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Glasgow South West"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Chris Stephens"} ], "uin" : "265552"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }