RL Becoming British Why Test for Citizenship?

BECOMING BRITISH: WHY TEST FOR CITIZENSHIP?

By Master Thom Brooks

The British Nationality Act 1981 required that anyone wanting to become a British citizen through naturalisation must have a ‘sufficient knowledge of life in the United Kingdom’, but it did not specify how this was to be done. Two decades later the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 set out that knowledge of life in the United Kingdom would be confirmed through a ‘Life in the United Kingdom’ citizenship test.

While other countries, like the United States, had used citizenship tests since the 1980s, the original catalyst for introducing a test in Britain was a concern that migrant communities were not well integrated, culminating in the May 2001 riots in areas like Burnley and Oldham. In that same month, the Australian government responded to a report, Australian Citizenship for a New Century led by Sir Ninian Stephen, where the government accepted its recommendations to introduce a knowledge test based around Australian values and citizenship responsibilities leading to the introduction of new citizenship ceremonies. This work was promptly commissioned in the UK through several reviews followed by a ‘Life in the UK’ Advisory Group chaired by Sir Bernard Crick. After a public consultation, this group recommended a test based around shared values and knowledge of public institutions leading to the launch of citizenship ceremonies across Britain. The idea was that making such a test a requirement for becoming British would ensure British values and knowledge of practical matters would be better understood and help integrate new citizens improving community cohesion.

The first test edition appeared in November 2005. It consisted of 24 multiple-choice questions to be answered over 45 minutes. Applicants must answer 18 or more correctly to pass. The test now costs £50 per attempt and its administration is outsourced. A second edition was published in April 2007 and the government started to require passing the test in order to apply for both Indefinite Leave to Remain and citizenship. Both editions became best known for their errors. The first edition claimed Charles II lived in exile while in France, but he was in Holland. Applicants were required to memorise Sir Winston Churchill’s saying “never in the course of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” when, instead, he had actually said “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”. It also claimed Northern Ireland was a part of Great Britain, rather than of the United Kingdom. Perhaps the most glaring error was the test claimed there were 645 Members of Parliament when there were actually 646. My best guess is that the 2005 General Election saw 645 MPs sworn in together as a candidate for the Staffordshire South seat had died about a week before polling day – a seat retained by Sir Patrick (now Lord) Cormack who was sworn in shortly afterwards as the 646th MP in that parliament.

The second edition tried to correct earlier mistakes. It had questions about where tax is paid, where dialects like Geordie are spoken and that fireworks are traditionally set off on 5 November. There are trickier questions about what the acronyms ‘GCSE’ and ‘quango’ stand for with various questions about general demographic information from the most recent census.

However, the second edition became outdated quickly as public bodies and programmes were merged, closed or renamed. Applicants needed to know about Education Maintenance Allowance and how to claim it after it was ended. There was also a question about which two places someone could contact to obtain a National Insurance number with one of the ‘correct’ answers that must be acknowledged having been closed. After parliament expanded the number of MPs to its current 650, the test required applicants provide the untrue ‘correct’ answer of 646. In my research, I discovered it was possible to sit a full test of questions that had answers which were no longer true and called on the government to update the handbook and ensure the test was fit for purpose. I also pushed for inclusion of information about British history and culture which had been largely absent.

In 2013, the coalition government published the third edition of the citizenship test handbook. While pleased it had corrected and updated its contents, the test was expanded to include an estimated 3,000 facts including 278 historical dates over 180 pages. British history and culture now formed some of the most substantial chapters, but what was once trivia became more trivial.

British history and culture now formed some of the most substantial chapters, but what was once trivia became more trivial.

Yet lessons were still not learned. The new edition contained errors, such as claiming the largest denomination of currency is £50 when the Bank of Scotland, RBS and Clydesdale Bank all produce £100 notes. The former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had died two weeks after the current test was launched, but it has not been updated since and she is noted as still alive. There was no EU Referendum either in 2013 and so the test requires applicants know the UK is a member of the European Union along with the names of other member states.

Perhaps the most curious addition is information about Sake Dean Mahomed, of whom applicants must know more facts about him and his life than anyone else including when he was born (1739), where he was born (Bengal), his military service (Bengali army), when he came to Britain (1782), that he moved abroad (to Ireland), how he became married (eloped), his wife’s name (Jane Daly), how she is described (‘an Irish girl’), the year they eloped (1786), where they moved next (England), when he opened a business (1810), the name of it (Hindoostane Coffee House), what it was (Britain’s first curry house), what street it was on (George Street, London), what else he introduced (Indian head massage shampooing) and when he died (1851). Oddly, it is not noted that the restaurant operated only a few years before closing, that he was a shampooing surgeon to both King George IV and William IV and he was the first Indian to write a travel book in English, in 1794. While undoubtedly an important figure, it is far from clear why knowing he once eloped or a short-lived restaurant used to be found on George Street is a necessary requirement for becoming British. Indeed, triviality runs through the test. For example, applicants must know the approximate age of Big Ben and the height of the London Eye. There are five telephone numbers noted in the handbook. The first is the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the second is the HMRC Self-Assessment Helpline. The other three are the front desks of the House of Commons, Holyrood and Welsh Assembly so one might book a visit. For some reason, the handbook forgets to include Stormont in Northern Ireland which can be visited, too. Other oddities include having to know various legal institutions like Magistrates Courts, Justice of the Peace Courts, Sheriff Courts, Youth Courts and County Courts, but not any mention of the UK Supreme Court. While the current test no longer requires knowledge of how many MPs are in parliament, applicants must know the number of representatives in the Welsh Assembly, Holyrood and Stormont.

There is gender imbalance throughout as well. Only four women are listed with dates of birth in the history chapter. Her Majesty The Queen’s birthday is not – nor that she has two birthdays. Eleven men and only six women are noted in the test’s information on sport and culture, as well as three women for being writers. There are no female musicians, artists or poets mentioned.

There is gender imbalance throughout as well.

One curiosity about the tests concerns language. Since its introduction in 2005, the test could be taken in English, Welsh or Scots Gaelic. Passing the citizenship test counted twice: it fulfilled the requirement for having “knowledge of life in the United Kingdom” and served as proof of knowledge of English, or a language with equivalency, when applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain or naturalisation. However, this changed after Halloween 2013. The test can still be sat in Welsh or Scots Gaelic, but the same test no longer counts for proof of English. Oddly, while the test is available in three languages, the test handbook is only in English.

There is a further issue about language. In April 2014, the coalition government granted the Cornish protected minority status. As a signatory to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the UK was under an obligation to promote equality, preserve and develop the culture and identity of its officially recognised protected minority groups also including the Welsh, Scots and Irish alongside the Cornish. Yet while the test is available in other languages and its contents include information about their patron saints, national flags and food and famous citizens, there is no such equal treatment for the Cornish. In so doing, the government has needed to act on this for nearly a decade.

As a signatory to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the UK was under an obligation to promote equality, preserve and develop the culture and identity of its officially recognised protected minority groups also including the Welsh, Scots and Irish alongside the Cornish.

The citizenship test has been badly in need of reform. After I published the first comprehensive report in 2013 on the test, famously claiming it was “like a bad pub quiz” (that I was pleased to find echoed by former Home Secretary Sajid Javid when in that role), there have been three House of Lords bodies – a Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Participation reporting in 2018, a Liaison Committee reporting earlier this year and an inquiry concluded this summer by the Justice and Home Affairs Committee – that have each accepted my recommendations that a new Advisory Group is established, that it includes individuals who have naturalised, that the group consults with the public and a new fourth edition focused on shared values and practical information is published urgently.

While the government has claimed repeatedly it intends to review the test and publish a refreshed new edition, this work has not commenced and is unlikely to begin for at least a year. During the pandemic, the Home Office paused all unannounced inspections of test centres which are yet to resume long after many of us returned to work and I recently uncovered evidence that Home Office guidance was not being followed. For example, the guidance has stated since the test’s launch that anyone who fails the test ‘must’ wait at least seven days before resitting the £50 test. However, the government confirmed someone had failed the test 118 times in a row during 2015 and 2016. This would have cost £5,900 in fees. There should not have been more than one test sat per week for 104 weeks during these two years, but the government admitted this was breached, they did not appear aware in accepting guidance was not followed and it raises further questions of how satisfactory this process has now become.

Despite its many flaws, I am supportive of a general test for citizenship. But the recommendations by several parliamentary committees as well as myself for an Advisory Group, wider consultation and a test more fit for purpose is more urgent than ever. Becoming British is a tremendously important status that many immigrants, like myself, are proud to have achieved. A fair, principled and competent test is easily achievable if supported politically and by the public. The British citizenship test should no longer be the test for citizenship that few British citizens can pass. Nor, as my research has revealed, should it be allowed to continue as a source of resentment by new migrants who feel the unfair requirements at unreasonable costs is not a sound example of British fair play. In my view, we should recreate the test as more of a bridge than a barrier bringing us closer together. I remain optimistic that this vision will some day soon become a reality – in this most curious aspect of nationality law.

Professor Thom Brooks

Professor of Law and Government and Dean of Durham Law School

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