Home Office News Release...
The Government's plans to raise the status of being granted British citizenship will be boosted with the creation of a new independent group, headed by distinguished academic and leading citizenship expert Professor Sir Bernard Crick, Home Secretary David Blunkett announced today.
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill would require UK residents seeking British citizenship to be tested in English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to show an understanding of UK society and civic structures and to take a citizenship oath and pledge at a formal ceremony.
The group, which will have its first meeting this week, will advise the Home Secretary on the contents of the new citizenship courses and ceremony and on the method, conduct and implementation of a "Life in the United Kingdom" naturalization test.
Home Secretary, David Blunkett, said:
"Becoming a British citizen is a significant life event. The Government intends to make gaining British citizenship meaningful and celebratory rather than simply a bureaucratic process. New citizenship ceremonies will help people mark this important event.
"We want British citizenship to embrace positively the diversity of background, culture and faiths that living in modern Britain involves. The Government is also concerned that those who become British citizens should play an active role, both economic and political, in our society, and have a sense of belonging to a wider community.
"I have asked this new advisory group, which brings together independent experts in citizenship, integration and education from England, Scotland and Wales, to consider how best to achieve the Government's plans to promote language skills and practical knowledge about the UK for those seeking to become British citizens.
"The advisory group will be invaluable in helping the Government to take forward this work. I am very grateful that Professor Crick, following his excellent work helping to put citizenship training on to the national curriculum, has agreed to head up this advisory group."
The new group will:
* advise the Home Secretary on the content of the courses planned to help people learn about UK society and on the most appropriate methods of assessing knowledge of life in the UK;
* advise the Home Secretary on the form of the citizenship ceremony; and
* explore the possibility of setting up voluntary mentoring schemes to help immigrants integrate with their local community.
The group's members will be Professor Tim Brighouse, Joseph [Ted] E. Brown, Satpal Hira, Samina Khan, Dina Kiwan, David Muir, Ashok Ohri, Alex Porter, Liz Statham, Tony Tigwell, Selina Ullah and Annette Zera.
The White Paper, 'Secure Borders, Safe Haven', set out the Government's commitment to enhance the acquisition of British citizenship. The legislative aspects of that reform are being taken forward in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill, currently before the House of Lords.
Notes to Editors:
1. The White Paper, 'Secure Borders Safe Haven' was published on 7 February 2002 (Home Office press notice 038/02). The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill was published 12 April 2002 (Home Office press notice 093/02). The Bill is currently before the House of Lords.
2. Professor Sir Bernard Crick is Emeritus Professor of Birkbeck College, University of London. He was educated at University College London and Harvard and lectured in Politics at the LSE and Sheffield University. He chaired the Committee on 'Education for Citizenship and the teaching of Democracy in Schools' in 1998 and was the adviser to the DfEE on citizenship for the National Curriculum. He has published a biography of George Orwell and is the author of 'In Defense of Politics'.
3. The group's members are:
Professor Tim Brighouse, Chief Education Officer, Birmingham City Council.
Visiting Professor at Keele University.
Joseph [Ted] E. Brown, Service Development Manager (Projects) of the Bradford
Metropolitan District.
Satpal Hira, Head of Education Equalities division in the Birmingham City
Education Department.
Samina Khan, County Essential Skills Officer, Cardiff with a background in ESOL
teaching.
Dina Kiwan, Research Officer at the Institute of Education, University of
London.
David Muir, Independent member of the Metropolitian Police Authority. Senior
lecturer in Caribbean Studies at the University of North London. Executive
Director of the Black Christian Civic Forum. Sits on the Home Office Lawrence
Steering Group.
Ashok Ohri, Independent consultant on equality and diversity issues, Scotland.
Formerly a social worker with immigrants in Glasgow and elsewhere.
Alex Porter, Part-time teacher in citizenship at the Institute of Education,
London and registrar for marriages of the Free Churches.
Liz Statham, Team Leader of Hampshire's Bilingual Learners Support Service
(supporting ethnic minority achievement).
Tony Tigwell, Teacher, Abbeydale Grange School, Sheffield.
Selina Ullah, Senior manager, Bradford Care Trust (NHS), chair of the Asian
Women's Centre, Keighley.
Annette Zera, Principal of Tower Hamlets College.
Published: 9 Sep 2002