Code of practice issued on fluency duty for public sector workers
The Government has published a code of practice intended to help public authorities to meet their legal obligations to ensure public-facing staff speak an appropriate level of English (or Welsh in Wales).
The new legal duty has been brought in through Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, which came into force on 21 November.
Issued by the Cabinet Office and the Home Office, the code of practice sets out considerations public authorities will need to take into account when deciding how to comply with the duty.
The code, which can be viewed here, contains five sections:
- A definition of the scope of the code.
- The appropriate ways in which public authorities can set a standard of spoken English (or Welsh) for public-facing roles.
- Options for remedial action where staff do not meet the necessary standard of spoken English (or Welsh).
- The complaints procedure that must be followed in respect of complaints raised by a member of the public under the fluency duty.
- Guidance on compliance with other legal obligations.
Cabinet Office Minister Ben Gummer, writing in the foreword, said: “To serve the public it is vital that those working in public-facing roles can communicate in English, or in Wales, English or Welsh, fluently; be it with patients in hospitals, with students in schools, or with members of the public receiving local authority services.”
He insisted that the intention was clear – “a common sense approach to meeting the public’s reasonable expectation to be able to communicate in English, or in Wales, English or Welsh, when accessing public services”.
The impact assessment can be viewed here.
