Local councils have joined the contentious battle over immigration by calling for more resources to fund English language classes. Town hall leaders used the launch of a government consultation to challenge the Department for Communities and Local Government's demand for a reduction in the use of translation services. Local Government Association's safer communities board chairwoman, Cllr Hazel Harding, said: ‘The Government recently announced that councils should rely less on translation in order to encourage people to learn the language, therefore it is essential that English is taught as a second language to help new arrivals.'
