Written question asked by James Cleverly (Conservative) on Monday, 8 September 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 9 September 2025. It was answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 September 2025 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Community Development: English Language
- Question
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 52871 on Community Development: English Language, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing English language support to people in the UK in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial years.
- Answer
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The below answer refers to funding made by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government only. The provisions described are in addition to what other departments may 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. Homes for Ukraine funding allocations are published on gov.uk here.
The department provided £11.5 million of funding for English language courses and employment support for up to 12,500 Ukrainians across the UK through the ‘STEP Ukraine’ programme. 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 £4.5 million to councils. Continued funding is available in 2025-26.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 75606
- Session
- 2024-26
- Related items
-
Department for Work and Pensions: English Language
Wednesday, 19 November 2025
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Community Development: English Language
Thursday, 20 November 2025
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Community Development: English Language
Thursday, 20 November 2025
Written questions
House of Commons
- Subjects
- Community development Finance English language
- Contains statistics
- Yes
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Show all related items (5)
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- 2025-11-20 16:46:10 +0000
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