Five councils to adopt integration plans

Bradford, Blackburn, Peterborough, Walsall and London’s Waltham Forest will seek to adopt new integration plans to deal with problems of segregation.

As part of the government's Integrated Communities Strategy, which will see £50 million of funding invested in schemes to improve community relations over the next two years, the five areas have been selected for special help to stop the divide in local communities following a bidding process.

Arguing that too many politicians have ‘refused to deal with the integration challenges we face head on’, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid will use the strategy to create extra support for English language classes and improve the economic opportunities for people - particularly women - in segregated communities.

Javid said: "Britain can rightly claim to be one of the most successful diverse societies in the world. But we cannot ignore the fact that in too many parts of our country, communities are divided, preventing people from taking full advantage of the opportunities that living in modern Britain offers.

"Successive governments have refused to deal with the integration challenges we face head on, preferring to let people muddle along and live isolated and separated lives. We will put an end to this through our new strategy which will create a country that works for everyone, whatever their background and wherever they come from. Integration challenges are not uniform throughout the country, with different areas and communities having varying needs."

Dame Louise Casey, who wrote the Casey Review in 2016 warning against segregation and social exclusion, has recently urged the government to set a date for everyone in the UK to speak English.