New British citizens will have to learn about parliament, the prime minister and the role of the Queen, under new plans out for consultation.

The recommendations are part of a report on British citizenship, released on Friday by the a committee set up to advise the Home Office.

The independent group of experts was set up in September to advise the government on implementing its commitment to make becoming a British citizen a more significant "life event".

The government's Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act requires naturalisation applicants to demonstrate "sufficient English" or Welsh and Scottish Gaelic and also a knowledge of life in the UK.

Those seeking to become British citizens - there were 109,000 applications for British nationality in 2001 - will be set a programme for studies that includes information on employment, everyday needs, the law, British society, sources of assistance and national institutions.

Welcoming the "useful" report, immigration minister Beverley Hughes said that "we want to make acquiring British nationality a special and meaningful event.

"People acquiring the status of British citizenship should embrace the diversity of living in Britain and play an active role - both economically and as citizens - in our society."

The interim report also recommends that British citizenship should be granted to those applicants who can demonstrate that their English has progressed and are able to answer questions on living in the UK.

The group suggests that English - or Welsh and Scottish Gaelic where relevant - should be assessed from the starting levels of applicants rather that requiring a common standard.

"Becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland should be no ordinary matter: it is a significant life event," said the chairman of the group, Sir Bernard Crick.

"The two senses of 'citizenship', as legal naturalisation and as participation in public life, should support each other.

"In what has long been a multi-cultural society, new citizens should be equipped to be active citizens.

"Use of the English language itself is a most, possibly the most, important means of diverse communities participating in a common culture with common values."

After consultation the final report will be submitted to ministers for a final government decision.