A UKIP councillor has sparked anger by saying it was “not too much to ask” to have Englishspeaking care home workers in Southend.

Lawrence Davies, who represents Kursaal for the anti-EU party, spoke out at a full council meeting.

His comments were criticised by his counterparts, who said turning council discussions into immigration debates was a “slippery slope”.

Mr Davies said: “It has come to my attention that not many care workers speak English.

“If there’s an expectation workers speak the language residents in homes speak, I don’t think having English-speaking nurses is too much to ask.”

Mr Davies had earlier tabled a question asking about the impact of EU migrants on Southend Council’s services.

Labour’s Ian Gilbert, deputy leader of Southend Council, said the council did not hold figures on how many migrants were collecting benefits in the borough, as benefits were administered by the Government.

He added: “I work at a company that employs a lot of people with a variety of skills and languages and that company contributes a lot of economic benefits to the town.”

According to the 2011 English census, 3.1 per cent of Southend’s population were born overseas in an EU country.

Labour’s David Norman, councillor responsible for adult social care, said: “If you withdrew all the immigrants from Southend Hospital, it would shut down and, whether you like it or not, the same applies to our care homes.”