Far from integrating different communities as has been suggested, providing translation services actually causes divisions in society as those people unable to speak English are not encouraged to learn to do so.
Following the Oldham riots in 2001, one of the conclusions of The Ritchie Report was that communities are divided because of the language barrier.
http://en.wikipedia.o..._riots#Ritchie_Report
Taken from the above report (page 84)...
“Many Asian women are isolated from society, unable to speak English and confined to the home. This has a detrimental effect on their children whom by the time they go to school have only a limited grasp of the English language.”
“Poor language skills amongst the Asian community restrict their ability to gain well-paid employment. Language is a major social, economic and cultural barrier between the white and Asian communities.”
“English should be spoken by all to unify the community. Immigrants should learn English as a condition of residency as per the American model.”
Not everyone will agree with the above statements but as was stated earlier by VHG, if you live in a country but cannot speak the lingo, you immediately put yourself at a disadvantage.