English language classes for migrants have cost taxpayers almost £350 million, a shocking investigation has revealed.

Some 168,730 enrolled on taxpayer-funded English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses last year.

And figures obtained by the Centre for Migration Control revealed the Department for Education has splurged £347million on the lessons since 2018.

The think-tank said almost one in three Syrians cannot speak English either at all, or well, while 25.6% of Bangladeshis struggle with the language.

More than 100,000 Pakistanis living in the UK do not speak English.

Critics slammed the “insane” sums, warning politicians have “devised an endless procession of ‘integration’ strategies which amount to nothing more than a coffee morning”.

Reform UK’s Head of Policy, Zia Yusuf, said: “This is insane. British taxpayers have been forced to spend £347 million over the last 5 years teaching migrants to speak English. 168,000 migrants were enrolled on taxpayer-funded English courses last year, up 35% in 5 years.

“A staggering 1 in 5 migrants from China and Pakistan arrive in Britain unable to speak English.

“Why is anyone who cannot speak English being allowed in? British people voted to stop this madness time and again, only for the Tories to betray them repeatedly.”

An estimated 898,000 people moved to the UK in the year to June, while 693,000 emigrated – the highest level since 1923.

Net migration hit a staggering 944,000 in the year to June 2023, amid an influx of foreign students, a spike in non-EU workers, particularly in the health and social care sectors and the introduction of the Ukraine and Hong Kong refugee visa schemes, Office for National Statistics figures revealed.

The think-tank said “there were a total of 980,266 foreign-born individuals living in England and Wales who responded that they “cannot speak English” or “cannot speak English well”.

“This includes 111,000 Pakistan-born individuals, 104,000 Polish-born individuals, 97,000 Indian-born individuals, and 73,000 Romanian-born individuals.”

Robert Bates, the CMC’s Research Director, said: “What a ridiculous waste of money. If people are unable to speak English, they should not be in the country. Those seeking asylum would be better served by seeking residency in countries that are linguistically and culturally familiar to them, rather than coming to Britain.

“ESOL languages have exploded because low-grade politicians and Government officials have devised an endless procession of ‘integration’ strategies which amount to nothing more than a coffee morning and teach people how to say hello.”

Mr Bates fumed: “The taxpayer deserves better than this. The British people deserve better than this. Time to scrap ESOL courses and put money into improving the lives of British people.”

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has revealed that foreign nationals applying for indefinite leave to remain must speak English to A-level standards.

She said that migrants receiving benefits must wait 20 to 30 years to obtain settlement rights.

And foreign nationals who arrived in the so-called ‘Boris Wave’ face a 10 to 15-year wait for settlement rights amid fears over an influx of low-skilled workers, particularly on the abused health and social care visa in the early part of this decade.

The new rules will apply to around 2.6 million people who arrived after 2021 – but won’t impact those already with settled status.