Education minister Bill Rammell described the current funding set-up as "unsustainable" as demand has tripled.

Between 2004-05, the government spent £279m funding almost 540,000 places on English for Speakers of Other Languages courses (Esol).

These courses have long been considered a key element in helping either newly arrived migrants, or those already settled in the UK, to gain sufficient knowledge of the language to integrate more fully into society.

But under current proposals, Esol classes will no longer be free except for priority groups - the unemployed and those on income support. The changes are due to come into force in the next academic year.

'Growing' demand

The Department for Education says DFES funding will remain comparable but will be better targeted at those who most need it while working migrants will be expected to pay.

Campaigners say two key groups will be most affected - migrants in minimum wage low-skills jobs and some categories of asylum seekers or refugees.

Last autumn a think-tank study of Esol said demand was high and growing.

Researchers at the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education said it had serious concerns over the quality and scale of Esol teaching.

It also urged the government to force employers to provide