Focusing ESOL on community cohesion

The Proposition

To foster community cohesion a new partnership approach to planning is necessary which targets English language provision at priority local need. We need a ‘whole community approach’ where ESOL needs are considered as part of wider local planning arrangements such as Local Area Agreements and City Strategies.

Drawing on available evidence of low community cohesion, local authorities and their partners will determine how ESOL funding allocations are best aligned against community need and the national priorities. As now, the LSC will remain accountable for managing ESOL spend. The innovation would be LSC spending decisions being taken with reference to these local plans/priorities.

We have already discussed the policy intentions of this proposition with key stakeholders and the independent ESOL Advisory Forum. There was strong support for the overall aims of the consultation. We now want to engage much more widely with citizens and stakeholders in order to confirm that the general direction of travel is indeed correct and to discern how best to achieve it.

The consultation period will run for twelve weeks from 4 January 2008

Next Steps

We expect the full changes resulting from the consultation on this proposition will take place in the 2009/10 financial year. We will be publishing a next steps document outlining the findings from the consultation and policy proposals in summer 2008. Any resulting changes would be assessed for race and equality impact.