Councils are being encouraged to reduce the translation of public materials, in a bid to increase take-up of the English language. New translation guidance published by the Government aims to bring a greater emphasis on learning the English language and increase employment opportunities to non English-speaking UK residents. ‘Automatic translation of all public materials can just reinforce the language barrier,' said communities secretary, Hazel Blears. Welcoming the move, Ealing LBC chief executive and chairman of the former Commission on Integration and Cohesion, Darra Singh, said: ‘Local councils should be totally confident this is the right thing to do.' The Local Government Association said it was imperative language did not act as a barrier to access services. But chairman of the children and young people board, Cllr Les Lawrence, warned councils could pick up the bill for English lessons after theLearning and Skills Council said it was drastically reducing its budget to provide English for speakers of other languages.
