UK citizenship test to be investigated by Lords committee

The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has launched a short inquiry into the Life in the UK test, which foreigners applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain or for British citizenship must pass. Failure to pass the test in time can make an applicant liable for deportation.
Over the course of its inquiry, the committee will consider whether a test is the best way of assessing the civic knowledge of new long-term residents and citizens and if so, consider whether the current test needs reforming. It will seek views from overseas and from those who took the test.
The committee held its first evidence session as part of the inquiry on Tuesday 29 March at 10 am. The committee explored the origins of the Life in the UK test, assess whether its original objectives were met, and consider what would be alternative means to achieve these objectives.
Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future, Professor Dina Kiwan, Professor in Comparative Education, University of Birmingham and Madeleine Sumption MBE, Director of the Migration Observatory, University of Oxford were due to present evidence.
Some of the questions are as follows: Legislation requires long-term residents and prospective citizens to have “sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom”. What do you understand by “sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom”?
What lessons can be learnt from citizenship tests or alternative mechanisms implemented overseas? What do you consider the best way of assessing civic knowledge? Are there unintended and unwelcome consequences to the test and to the underlying requirement to demonstrate "sufficient knowledge about Life in the United Kingdom"?
Over two million people have taken the Life in the UK test. What do we know about their experience? Do different groups experience the test differently? What are the direct and indirect costs incurred by the test for those taking it?