UK Edition
Migrants should swear an oath of allegiance when they arrive in UK, Dame Lousie Casey says
Migrants should swear an oath of allegiance as soon as they arrive in the UK, an official review has recommended as it warned that Muslims increasingly do not identify themselves as being British.
An 18 month review by Dame Louise Casey has found that the "unprecedented pace and scale of recent immigration" has had a significant impact on many communities.
It warns that parts of Birmingham, Blackburn, Burnley and Bradford up to 85 per cent of the local population is Muslim, with many holding "very socially Conservative views" about women and homosexuality.
Muslims living in the UK are, it suggests, increasingly identifying with a global Islamic "Ummah", or community, rather than with being British.
It says that the divide creates a "wedge" and helps foster extremist views in some Muslim communities. It warns that ethnic isolation is being embedded at a young age, and identifies 511 schools where more than half of pupils are from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds.
She criticised previous events by the Government to encourage integration as "saris, samosas and steel drums", saying that while they help bring people together they fail to tackled the "difficult issues".
To increase integration Dame Louise suggests that schools should work together to ensure that "different communities learn alongside those from different backgrounds.
The review says that "more weight should be attached to British values" in the national curriculum and raises "serious concerns" about the growth of unregistered Muslim schools and children being home taught.
It says that the "single most important thing" the Government can do is to ensure people can speak English, highlighting the fact that Muslim and Hindu women are half as likely to do so as men.
The review warns that women in some ethnic minority communities are being subjected to "coercive control, violence and criminal acts of abuse".
The Government should use the benefits system, she says to help give people English lessons and "tackle cultural barriers born out of segregation".
It says ministers should make clear to migrants that they are expected to integrate before they apply for visas, and consider an "oath of integration with British values and society" after they arrive.
It also addresses concerns around corruption, suggesting that here needs to be a new oath for holders of public office.
Dame Louise said: “Social integration is about closing the gaps that exist between people and communities.
“We need more effort to be put into integration policies to help communities cope with the pace and scale of immigration and population change in recent years. But we also need more of a spirit of unity, compassion and kindness that brings people together under our common British values of tolerance, democracy, equality and respect.”
The report warns: "British Muslims are increasingly identifying with a global Muslim ‘Ummah’. This rise in religiosity and less integrated, more regressive and socially conservative versions of Islam is being felt in communities but not discussed openly, other than by Islamophobic hate mongers on the Far Right.
"This in turn helps to feed a grievance narrative promoted by extremist groups who want to drive a wedge between British Muslims and the rest of British society. So we need a more honest conversation about all this in the mainstream, in a way that helps bind people back together again, not drive them apart."
It adds that net migration figures, which are currently around 330,000 a year, "disguise" the fact that 1million people arrive or leave a year.
It says: "While diversity makes our nation economically and culturally richer, it is important to acknowledge the impact of the unprecedented pace and scale of recent immigration on communities.
"Annual net migration is high at more than 300,000 people but this can disguise the fact that nearly one million people either leave or arrive in any year. This can be particularly salient at a local level, where the impact of this churn on communities is significant.
"We need to talk about the impacts of immigration in a level-headed way, as well as to provide more help for new migrants to integrate and more help for local people to adapt to changes and new pressures in their communities." The report highlights "serious" concerns about home schooling and suggests that the Government should consider new standards to ensure it is not "divisive"