Teenagers could be told to bond with immigrants

They would be asked to go to their local town hall to pledge allegiance to the Queen, just as immigrants must do to win British citizenship.

The idea is to establish a bond between those born here and those who choose to make Britain their home.

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Migrants arrive at London's Victoria coach station

If adopted by the Government, it would mean 600,000 16-year-olds each year going through a ceremony that includes a pledge of allegiance to the monarch and loyalty to Britain, along with a vow to "respect its rights and freedoms, uphold its democratic values' and 'observe its laws faithfully".

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The Commission on Integration and Cohesion yesterday unveiled the idea in a raft of measures to improve the way immigrants settle into this country.

It calls for action to ease racial tensions in the small towns, rural areas and suburbs which are assimilating large numbers of immigrants for the first time.

This included the formation of 'hit squads' to go into areas struggling with racial change. Using "conflict resolution" skills, they would advise local leaders, schools and hospitals on how to calm trouble.

The commission's report asks for councils to draw up maps of their areas to establish who lives in each ward, the ethnic breakdown of schools, and the importance of different religious groups.

There should be local "contracts" between councils and migrant and ethnic groups "to set out what is and what is not acceptable behaviour".

The Daily Mail revealed last month how large-scale immigration has brought large new communities to small towns.

For example, one in ten people in Boston, Lincolnshire, is now Eastern European and the Cheshire town of Crewe is home to 6,000 new migrants, mainly Poles.

The admission that areas that have never experienced racial tension are now potential scenes of turmoil and violence is part of the commission's push for a change in policy towards integration.

The importance of newcomers learning English was also highlighted in the report.

The commission wants lessons for those who speak only their homeland language to reduce isolation among some minority groups and encourage integration.

The commission, set up by Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly in the aftermath of the July 7 bombings two years ago, condemned many of the practices carried out for years in the name of anti-racism - which have cost millions in taxpayers' and lottery money.

It says translation services that result in local authority documents published in scores of languages should be cut back and the money saved poured into English lessons.

Grants for single ethnic or cultural groups - routinely handed out by councils and lottery boards - should stop unless there is an exceptionally good reason for them. Such grants often provoke jealously and suspicion, the commission says.

It says social housing should no longer be provided for particular groups.

In recent years, flats and houses have been designed by councils and housing associations specificallyto cater for Muslim tenants, for example.

And housing policies should take into account the needs and fears of established populations, according to the commission.

Senior Labour politicians such as Margaret Hodge and Jon Cruddas have spoken of fears among whites that newly-arrived immigrants are preferred for council homes.

The commission warns that a poll shows more than half the population share such fears.

Its report, Our Shared Future, said: "This finding highlights that people are very sensitive about perceived freeloading by other groups, and about others getting a better deal than them when it comes to certain public services. The groups most often named spontaneously were asylum seekers, refugees or immigrants."

The recommendation for "an expansion of citizenship ceremonies to include all young people" could affect the largest number of Britons.

Commission chairman Darra Singh said: "We have to recognise that there are communities who are experiencing migration in a way they haven't before and that can be unsettling.

"Whilst there is no cause for alarm, there is a clear case for action."

The findings attracted criticism both from opposition politicians and the race relations industry. Tory communities spokesman Caroline Spelman said: "Belonging to British society is about shared values, not children receiving a certificate when they leave school.

"We don't resolve complex problems of integration and cohesion with simplistic solutions like these."

The Government race watchdog, the Commission for Racial Equality, said: "This much-hyped report has been eagerly awaited, but sadly it hasn't taken the debate much further.

"It must not be an excuse for central government to pass the buck to local authorities."