This is a portion of a story taken from today's THE GUARDIAN of London
Jobseekers who cannot speak English and refuse to take up classes could face sanctions such as having their unemployment benefit cut, the British government announced today.
New guidance about signing on from April could force those with poor language skills - a problem which affects about 40,000 claimants, according to the government - to take lessons.
The move, unveiled by Jim Murphy, the welfare minister, is part of a range of measures aimed at tackling unemployment and poverty levels among ethnic minorities.
In a speech in London, Mr Murphy said it was unacceptable that unemployment rates and earning rates among British ethnic minorities were worse than those for white claimants, while half of children from Pakistani and Bangladeshi families in the UK live in poverty.
The government wants greater take up among the unemployed of a £14m training scheme for those on the dole to help with language skills.
Mr Murphy said that the £4.5m currently spent on in-house translators within jobcentres could be better spent on educating individuals to speak better English.
Mr Murphy said: "We must utilise the resources we have to redress the balance, to put the emphasis not just on translating language to claim a benefit, but to teaching language to get a job.
"Not just for the sake of employment rates, but for the benefit of the individual, their community and society as a whole.
"It is unacceptable that ethnic minorities on average earn a third less that their counterparts across Great Britain as a whole."
Not enough of the language-learning opportunities at jobcentres were being taken up, he said.
"Wherever possible, we would like them to participate in a work-focused language course, where they exist."
"People will be able and expected to look for work while they undertake any training, and in many cases there will also be the provision to carry on with the training course after they have got a job."
The party's work and pensions spokesman, David Laws, said: "It makes sense to ensure that people seeking employment have the basic skills necessary to get jobs, including speaking the language.
"However, it is ironic that the government is seeking to introduce this change at the same time as education ministers are cutting back on the provision of classes for those without English as a first language.
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