Cuts from the Conservative Lib Dem Government target Islington families, once again.
Islington Council Leader, Catherine West, joined protestors at the Government’s cuts to English as a Secondary Language classes as they handed in a petition against savage cuts to the provision.
The decision will hit people from the poorest families, and often the most isolated at a time when unemployment is rising thanks to Government cuts.
It is feared that between 60-70% of City and Islington College’s English learners face cuts to their funding.
Under new Government restrictions, only those on “active benefits” – jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) or employment support allowance (ESA) can get funding.
People on “non-active benefits” such as income support or on low incomes, including spouses, will not be funded for training such as ESOL. Asylum seekers, migrant workers and refugees will also be excluded.
The cut will be a ‘double-whammy’ for many families where young people studying at further education colleges already faces cuts to their Educational Maintenance Allowance.
Cllr Catherine West said: “It is wrong for the Tories and Lib Dems in Government to take away the opportunities that make our community stronger. More tragic still is the fact that many families will face a double whammy as parents lose ESOL training and their children lose EMA funding.
“If we give people the skills they need to get by, then they can work and get on in life. But unfortunately the Government has taken away the pathway for many low income people to learn English and play a more active role in our community”
