Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Berridge on 2 June (HL434), and on 20 July (HL1599), whether they still intend to publish "a new national strategy for English language in England", as set out in the Integrated Communities Action Plan, published on 9 February 2019; what role the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will have in the formulation of this strategy; and what steps they are taking to ensure a cross-government approach to the development of the strategy.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 20 July 2021 to Question HL1599.

We remain committed to English language, as demonstrated by the manifesto commitment to boost English language teaching. However, our response to the COVID-19 outbreak is our priority at present. We will provide an update on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in due course.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government continues to work closely with the Department for Education and other government departments on the provision of ESOL.