London Councils welcomes proposals to place councils at the centre of community cohesion

London Councils has today welcomed the Commission on Integration and Cohesion (CIC) report - in particular its recognition that local government has a key role to play in promoting community cohesion.

However the leaders of London's local authorities have also called on government to provide greater investment to help them fulfil this role.

In London, population increases have led to an increased pressure on council resources - and yet councils are not receiving government funding to help reduce these pressures.

A London School of Economics report released earlier this year revealed that population mobility - including increased migration - was costing London's boroughs over £100 million a year. Despite this, two thirds of London's boroughs only received the bare minimum increase in government funding in last year's finance settlement.

This pressure on limited resources has inevitably placed a strain on community relations. London Councils argues that it is vital that government recognises the need for greater investment in London's local authorities to help them provide the key services - such as housing and English language classes - needed to promote community cohesion.

Community cohesion is a major issue in the capital, and its local authorities have worked hard to promote community relations - particularly following the 7 July bombings. Their leadership and understanding of local issues will be vital to help promote the sense of community the CIC report aims to help foster.

London is one of the most diverse cities in the world with over 40 per cent of its population belonging to minority ethnic groups - nearly half of England's minority ethnic population.

This rich diversity is something that London's local authorities are rightly proud of, but it also presents several significant challenges to the capital's councils. For instance, more than 300 different languages are spoken by pupils in London's schools.

With this in mind, the leaders of London's local authorities have also welcomed the acknowledgement that learning English is a crucial element in enabling people to integrate. London Councils accepts that the blanket provision of translation services can discourage people from learning English themselves.

However, the leaders of London's local authorities have warned cutting translation services to promote the use of English will not succeed if communities are not provided with accessible and affordable English language classes.

While the recommendation to encourage employers to provide English classes is welcome, London Councils argues that government needs to play a far more active role in using language teaching to promote community cohesion. They should invest in widely accessible and affordable English language classes - or else local councils will be left picking up the strain once again. English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) training - which was recently cut from schools - should also be reinstated.