The Immigration Bill contains provisions under Part 7, requiring that every public sector worker operating in a customer facing role must speak fluent English. To assist with implementing Part 7, the Government have prepared a draft statutory Code of Practice under Clauses 41 and 42 of the Bill, which public authorities will have to consider when deciding how to comply with the new legal duty. The Cabinet Office have started a consultation on the content, scope and potential impact of the Code. The Code has five sections and covers the scope of the Code, the appropriate standards of spoken English (or Welsh) for customer-facing roles, options for remedial action where staff do not meet the necessary standard, the complaints procedure that must be followed and guidance on compliance with other associated legal obligations. Consultation ends on 8 December 2015.

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