Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2022 to Question 98220 on English language support for refugees, whether the Operation Warm Welcome programme for Afghan arrivals in the UK following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan still covers the costs of English language classes.

For those coming through both the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP), once granted Indefinite Leave to Remain, beneficiaries over the age of 19 have immediate access to funding through the Department for Education’s Adult Education budget including English For Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses.

As part of Operation Warm Welcome, the funding package offered to Local Authorities, who have pledged support to the ARAP and ACRS cohort, is additional funding of £850 per adult over the age of 19 which will be made available to assist with English Language training.

This funding is available for the first year in country.

Resources from the BBC can be found here BBC Learning English - Beginners English. The Open University has curated a series of short courses especially English provision and other resources for refugees. It is free to all and available at https://www.open.edu/openlearn/society-politics-law/resources-refugees