I recently wrote to my MP, Charles Hendry, about the unfairness of the life in the UK test. My email and the letter i received today from Damien Green MP , minister for immigration are below. Comments please as i intend to reply:-
My email to Charles Hendry:-
I am writing to bring your attention to the unfairness of the 'Life in the UK test' now compulsory for all those wishing to remain in the uk. My interest in this is that my wife who is from the Philippines needs to pass this to remain here. My complaints briefly are as follows:- 1) we are requiring immigrants to answer questions that a UK resident couldnt answer correctly. 2). The trst comprises 24 multiple choice questions of which you need to answer 18 correctly. These can be drawn from 6 chapters of the life in the uk booklet. Each time you take the test then you are presented with a new set of questions so you need to remember a vast amount of knowledge to pass as the questiond can be related to anything in the book. 3) The questions are largely irrelevent to day to day life life in the UK ., some being about history, religious groups etc. 4). The price for the test has now risen from £34 to £50 to take the test which is a massive increase and iMHO just exploitation of the many immigrants normally here doing very low paid jobs and working hard to stay in this country.
Could i ask yoiu firstly to look at some of the sample questions (maybe onlune) as i have my doubts that you could pass the test as a UK citizen by birth. Could you then please see that this test is reveiewed to make it fair and look at the costs charged by the test providers. Thankyou in anticipation.
And the reply from Damien Green MP:-
Thank you for your letter of 2 June with enclosures on behalf of Mr ******
Elliott of **********************************, about the
Knowledge of Life test for settlement in the UK.
The Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement was initially introduced as a
statutory requirement for naturalisation as a British citizen, as it was felt that
becoming a British citizen is a significant event in someone's life. If a person
is applying for naturalisation as a British citizen it is reasonable to expect them
to show, amongst other things, that they know about life in the UK. That
knowledge will also enable a person to understand their rights and duties as a
British citizen. This could be demonstrated either by taking a test, or by
attending a English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) with citizenship
course. The Knowledge of Life requirement was extended to settlement
cases in April 2007.
The test itself was devised after an advisory group was set up which brought
together independent experts in citizenship, integration and education from
England, Scotland and Wales, to consider how best to promote language
skills and practical knowledge about the UK for those seeking to become
British citizens. The questions set in the test allow applicants to display a level
of knowledge of what it means to be a citizen of modern, democratic Britain.
The questions themselves are taken from a bank of questions, but are not the
same from test to test in order to make the testing process robust and
meaningful.
Mr Elliott questions why migrants should be expected to know more about life
in the UK than British citizens. It is, in fact, not the case that there is a marked
difference between expectations of knowledge for migrants and those born
here. The Life in the UK handbook closely mirrors the content of the
Citizenship syllabus within the National Curriculum. Migrants are learning
very much the same things about the UK as is expected of school children at
Key Stages 3 and 4.
All the information needed to pass the test is contained in the handbook: 'Life
in the UK: A Journey to Citizenship' (ISBN: 9780113413133). A person
wishing to pass the test is advised to study the handbook. The test itself is
based on the information in Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the handbook. These
cover: A Changing Society, UK Today: a Profile, How the United Kingdom is
Governed, Everyday Needs, and Employment. I would disagree with Mr
Elliott that this information has no relevance to migrants in the UK. Further,
the historical information in Chapter 1 does not form part of the test.
Mr Elliott also commented on the cost of sitting the test. Ufi deliver the test on
behalf of the Home Office and set the fee at a level which covers the cost of
providing this service securely and across a number of geographical locations.
In the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011, 193,461 people sat the
Knowledge of Life test. The pass rates on a month to month basis were
between 70 and 74%. The pass rate for April 2011 was 74.17%.
Damien Green MP
for complaining about it .. 
Originally Posted by joebloggs
with the basic concept of the Test ... in so far as it being desirable for people from overseas wishing to settle in the UK to integrate themselves into the British lifestyle - as much for their own sakes, as for the benefit of the native population - and in this respect it would seem to serve a useful purpose. But, having said that, the Test itself is by NO means a "walkover" ... not least because of its unrealistically high target marks set - 75% or above - in order to score a pass! Truth be told, many born-and-bred Brits - myself included - would be struggling to attain such standards. My wife passed at her first attempt last July ... but then she'd been a schoolteacher for 22 years in the Phils and, admittedly, was already well-disciplined towards the level of study required. And, after all, adequate preparation is the key factor involved in any examination. 
!
