Two in five residents cannot speak English well or at all in parts of the country, MailOnline can reveal today.
Laying bare the shock extent of how many people struggle with the language, our in-depth analysis encompasses all of England and Wales’s nearly 36,000 neighbourhoods.
Reform UK claimed the figures illustrated how immigration ‘has made integration into the British way of life almost impossible’.
In one zone east of Leicester’s city centre, 43 per cent of over-16s speak little to no English.
Made up of just a dozen streets and 1,670 people, the pocket of North Evington is home to two mosques, a Hindu temple, an infant school and a cinema.
It is part of an enclave of 34 neighbourhoods stretching through Leicester’s North Evington, Belgrave and nearby suburbs, where at least a fifth of the population cannot speak English.
MailOnline used 2021 Census data, which the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) says is ‘the most appropriate’ way to analyse English language proficiency.
Using the same figures, the UKSA last month disclosed to the Tories that almost a million people in England either cannot speak English well or at all. This amounted to around two per cent of the overall population.
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Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the disclosure ‘beggars belief’ and called for Labour to quickly ‘get a grip on immigration’, which has spiralled to a record high since the Census was carried out.
Our map breaks down the figures by ‘Lower layer Super Output Areas’ (LSOAs), communities consisting of around 1,000 to 3,000 people.
The darker the red, the higher percentage of residents have little to no English language skills.
Areas on our map are named by the electoral ward within the country’s 300-plus local authorities. You can select your local authority by searching in the bar at the top of the tool.
Neighbouring areas may appear with the same name but have different statistics. That is because each ward might have numerous LSOAs.
For example, there are ten instances of North Evington within Leicester, but the zone technically called E01013656 has the lowest English comprehension in the country.
Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, told MailOnline: ‘After 14 years of total Tory failure on immigration, the chickens have come home to roost.
‘Opening the floodgates to millions of new people has made integration into the British way of life almost impossible, and these statistics are testament to that.
‘This is not only a cultural problem, but also piles extra pressure on public services, including the NHS, forcing them to fork out millions on translators which could be better spent on frontline staff.’
Leicester City Council has been contacted for comment.
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Outside of Leicester, 28 per cent residents of a small sector in the West Midlands town of Smethwick cannot speak English well.
The LSOA in Sandwell, called E01010049, is just off the High Street and includes the residential roads of Ford Street, Dibble Road and Sabell Road, as well as the Stony Lane Allotments. In terms of overall ranking, it came 16th.
In a neighbourhood of Elswick, Newcastle, which includes sections of around a dozen residential roads including Wellfield Road, nearly 27 per cent of residents have poor English skills. The area, called E01035618, is ranked 18th.
More than 26 per cent of residents in a neighbourhood of north Aldershot, Hampshire, which includes the Aldershot Military Town, cannot speak English well or at all. The LSOA in the Rushmoor district, called E01034730, came 20th.
Known as ‘Little Nepal’, Aldershot is home to many members of the Gurkhas Brigade and their families, whom were given the right to settle in the UK in 2009 after a powerful campaign by actress Joanna Lumley.
Data from the 2021 Census also shows 10 per cent of foreign-born over-16s have either poor or no understanding of the English language.
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More than half of migrants over 16 speak English as their first language (51.6 per cent) and another 38.5 per cent use it as a second, but speak it ‘well or very well’.
But 8.6 per cent (810,720 people) ‘cannot speak English well’ and 1.4 per cent (140,858) ‘cannot speak English at all’.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has blamed a lack of integration for ‘fraying’ the ties that bind society together. Last November she said new arrivals ‘must buy into the values, customs and institutions that attracted them here in the first place’, rather than trying to change this country’s culture.
Last month she also pledged to ban migrants who have claimed benefits from ever settling in Britain, and doubling the period to claim ‘indefinite leave to remain’ from five to ten years.
The Prime Minister has pledged to cut immigration by boosting British workers’ skills, but Government advisers previously warned this is not guaranteed to reduce numbers.
In its annual report, published in December, the Migration Advisory Committee cautioned the Prime Minister against a ‘one size fits all’ approach to limiting arrivals to Britain.
Net migration, the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the UK, hit a record 906,000 in the 12 months to June 2023, 166,000 higher than previously thought.
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Sir Keir previously accused the previous Tory government of turning Britain into a ‘one-nation experiment in open borders’.
The PM also claimed the UK economy was ‘hopelessly reliant on immigration’ and promised to ‘imminently’ publish plans on how Labour would bring down numbers.
He said the Government would reform the points-based immigration system to require companies employing foreign workers to also train British people, as well as crack down on abuse of the visa system.
A Government spokesperson said: ‘The government engages regularly with faith communities to help foster strong working relationships.
‘We are working in partnership with local authorities to understand the housing and integration needs of new arrivals and how we can work together to ensure positive outcomes in communities.’
