People in Britain who do not speak fluent English will be barred from public sector jobs which involve working directly with the public, the government has said.

From September, National Health Service (NHS) staff and council workers will be among those required to have language skills equivalent to GCSE grade C or above, the government said.

It will also include police officers, social workers, teaching staff and assistants. Managers will have to test if employees can “communicate effectively with the public“.

Cabinet minister Matt Hancock said it was to help control immigration.

“We are controlling immigration for the benefit of all hard-working people. We have already introduced tough new language requirements for migrants, now we will introduce new legislation in the forthcoming immigration bill to deliver the commitment made by the prime minister to go further,” he said.

The new rules, which will form part of the government’s immigration bill, will mean every public sector worker in a “customer-facing” role will have to be able to speak at least school-leaver levels of English.

Doctors working in the UK are already required to have a much higher level of English and are tested by the General Medical Council (GMC).

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