On 28 June 2012 Baroness Coussins attended the Language Rich Europe launch in the UK. Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Modern Languages Group, she also asked Her Majesty’s Government the following question about LRE in England:

what is their response to the research report published in June 2012 by the British Council-led Language Rich Europe consortium on its findings in England [HL1136]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford) responded:

We welcome this report and the valuable evidence it provides. Knowing a language benefits individuals and the economy more widely.

The Government is already taking steps to improve the take-up of languages in schools. We have announced that a language will be statutory for all seven to eleven year olds in maintained schools from 2014. A consultation will be launched shortly on what form this might take. Further, the English Baccalaureate has started to reverse the long-term decline of numbers taking languages at GCSE. We will be making an announcement on the secondary curriculum in due course.

You can read the Language Rich Europe profile for England on our website.