National Identity
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 81315 on National Identity, whether his Department is taking steps to promote (a) English and (b) British identities in people who do not speak English as a first language.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh
The below answer refers to funding made by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government only for English language provision. The provisions described are in addition to what other departments offer.
Councils receive a tariff of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival in their area to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. Councils can use this funding flexibly which could include supporting guests to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision.
The department provided £11.5 million of funding for English language courses and employment support for over 12,500 Ukrainians across the UK through the ‘STEP Ukraine’ programme. Following that success, the STEP Programme launched earlier this month which will provide intensive English language lessons and employment support for up to 4,000 individuals on Ukraine schemes and Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visas. The department has also allocated £3 million in grant funding to Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) in England to strengthen the capacity of ESOL teachers and expand community-based English language support for eligible Afghans, Ukrainians, and Hong Kong BN(O)s until March 2026. This builds on the £1 million SMP ESOL capacity grant delivered in 2023–24, which trained over 350 teachers and supported more than 2,500 resettled learners
The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme, which is in its fifth year of funding, provides demand led funding to councils in England which can be accessed to cover the costs of English language courses. In 2024-25, the department allocated £4.5m to councils. Continued funding is available in 2025-26.
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