Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential merits of standardising the English for Speakers of Other Languages curricula to enable settled refugees to learn necessary materials to integrate successfully into British society.

This Government recognises the ability to speak English is key to helping refugees integrate into life in the UK, as well as to breaking down barriers to work and career progression. The Home Office works very closely with other Government departments to ensure mainstream English language provision meets the needs of refugees.

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications are available at five levels, funded through the Adult Education Budget and regulated by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). Qualifications are aimed at providing learners with the skills they need for life and work in the UK.

Ofqual regulate ESOL qualifications so the outcomes achieved by learners attest to the level of knowledge, understanding and skills set out in the qualification.