Spouses hoping to migrate to the United Kingdom could face English tests under proposals being considered by a commission advising the government that identifies the inability to speak the language the single biggest barrier to social integration in the country.
The proposal is one of the most controversial features of an interim report being published by the Commission on Integration and Social Cohesion, which was set up last year in the wake of the July 7 London bombings.
The report identifies the inability to speak English as the single biggest barrier preventing migrants from integrating successfully in Britain. And it suggests that translation services for migrants could be scaled back in order to prevent newcomers relying on them as a crutch that means they never have to learn English.
Commission chairman Darra Singh, who will present his final conclusions to Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly in June, warned that if immigrants fail to pick up the language soon after their arrival, they might never do so.
Research carried out by consulting firm Mori for the commission found that 60 per cent of those surveyed agreed that the biggest barrier to being English was being unable to speak the language.
Singh urged employers to offer language tuition to workers, which he said could provide wider community benefits
Singh said the commission will produce guidance to local authorities to ensure that translation services help newcomers adapt to life in the UK after their arrival, but do not become a substitute for learning to communicate.
The commission is also seeking views on whether there should be a new entry requirement for spouses to speak English before settling.
Research has found that when UK nationals who speak English only poorly -- or only outside the home -- marry non-English speakers from outside Britain, they often go on to form family units where English is never spoken fluently, denying them the possibility to integrate properly.
