‘Protecting What Matters’: what does the government’s social cohesion plan mean for ESOL?

Published on 9 March 2026, Protecting What Matters is the government’s most substantial statement on social cohesion in years. Framed as a “call to action” against extremism, division and declining community trust, the Command Paper has significant implications for ESOL, both as opportunity and as warning.

The paper’s most direct commitment to ESOL is a promise to “review English language provision to identify best practice, and explore how innovation, including digital delivery, can increase the numbers able to speak English”, with conclusions due in Autumn 2026. ¹ This review runs alongside — and is closely linked to — the DfE’s separate review of ESOL content and qualifications. ²

Importantly, the paper positions English language proficiency not simply as a skills issue, but as a cornerstone of integration and national cohesion. Faith minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, writing to accompany the paper’s launch, was direct: for too many women from migrant backgrounds, she argued, inability to speak English “becomes not just an inconvenience but a cage.” ³ The paper explicitly champions ESOL’s role in enabling people to “play a full part in neighbourhood life, find jobs and understand their rights.”

However, the paper also contains a more coercive strand that is causing concern in the sector. It notes that jobcentres “can require individuals to learn English where it is a barrier to work and cut their benefits if they fail to comply.” ¹ For ESOL providers, this raises uncomfortable questions: if learners are mandated into provision as a condition of benefits, what does that mean for motivation, attendance and outcomes? The sector has been here before — ESOL Plus Mandation was introduced and then withdrawn in 2015 amid widespread criticism. ⁴

The paper also promises a new cross-government integration strategy, developed in collaboration with local government and the voluntary sector. For commissioners, this raises questions about how ESOL will be positioned and funded within that strategy — and whether the rhetoric of cohesion will be matched by the investment the sector desperately needs.

With the ESOL review conclusions due this autumn, providers, commissioners and teachers should be engaging now with the direction of travel — and making their voices heard.