Earlier this week, a campaign was launched by the University and College Union (UCU), the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace), the National Association for Teaching English and other Community Languages to Adults (Natecla), the Refugee Council and other concerned bodies to 'lobby the government' to reverse plans to end automatic fee remission on free English classes for asylum seekers. In a briefing paper published on 11 January, 2006, the Refugee Council detailed the real risks associated with limiting the ability of asylum seekers and refugees to learn English. "For refugees, limiting access to English classes will increase the difficulties they already face in building new lives in the UK and finding work," the paper said. Many refugees are unemployed or in jobs which don't use their skills and experience, and refugee communities are among the poorest in the country.

Ironically, in 2001 ESOL became part of the government's Skills for Life programme, sitting alongside literacy and numeracy. Since 1 November 2005, when the Life in the United Kingdom Test was introduced, all refugees applying for citizenship have to pass that test, of which language is a crucial part, before they are 'naturalised'. There has also been a lot of fuss lately about the amount of money spent on translation and interpretation, and such changes will obviously increase the need for translation and interpretation in public services (unless the next move by the government is to ban asylum seekers and refugees from these services!).