A right to a voice: the cost of denying language to asylum seekers Background

the National Research and Development Centre (NRDC). The report states that newly arrived asylum seekers who engage in learning and ESOL tuition require less time to acquire essential English skills and positively contribute to community integration. However, asylum seekers are currently unable to access any publicly funded ESOL for the first six months in the country. ( ESOL funding is only available for those with refugee status, whose claim for asylum has been recognised, and who are in receipt of income based benefits or are unemployed.) This impacts asylum seekers ’ ability to contribute to their local community and the labour workforce whilst their application is being considered. Lack of English skills means more reliance on support services and the welfare state. This paper identifies the cost of not allowing newly arrived asylum seekers access to ESOL provision. The decision to deny newly arrived asylum seekers ESOL tuition during the first six months of their stay in the UK, places a great pressure on individuals by excluding this vulnerable group from ESOL provision until they have been granted refugee status. Without the skills to speak English they are unable to develop relationships with new neighbours. The policy also makes it harder to re-engage this group with ESOL provision in the future, and places them in a position where they are even harder to reach. Further impact is placed on the welfare state, where the cost of supporting asylum seekers is far greater than i