Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which company, or companies, are being sub-contracted by <i>thebigword</i> to provide court interpreting services; and whether those companies are subject to quality assurance.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
To ensure a high and consistent level of fulfilment across all geographical areas and in rare languages, thebigword have partnered with a number of subcontractors, namely: Global Language Services Limited, Cintra Translations Limited, Debonair Languages Ltd, Supreme Linguistic Services Ltd, Mango Spice Language Solutions, J-anne Interpreting and Translation Service Limited, Global Translation Services and Language River.
Thebigword must ensure that its subcontracts contain obligations no less onerous on the sub-contractor than those imposed on them by the Ministry, including those relating to quality and performance standards. Thebigword are also responsible for carrying out audits to ensure subcontractor adherence to the contract service specification.
All language professionals provided by thebigword, whether directly or via subcontractor, will be subject to ongoing quality assurance provided by The Language Shop. This includes a programme of 'spot checks' of interpreters undertaking assignments.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the provision of court interpreters is being independently monitored.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The new language service contracts began on 31 October 2016 and are subject to robust governance arrangements.
These include monthly meetings with suppliers and stakeholders to monitor and discuss, in detail, the quality of the services being provided and performance against contractual performance indicators. The contracts also provide for the Ministry to audit the suppliers to verify the accuracy of contractual payments, management information, and compliance with contractual obligations.
In addition, the Ministry has awarded a contract to 'The Language Shop' (part of the London Borough of Newham) to provide independent quality assurance of the services provided under the other contracts, including those awarded to the thebigword Ltd. The Language Shop undertakes this assurance in a number of ways, including managing the Ministry’s register of interpreters, conducting an annual audit of supplier processes for introducing new linguists, and a programme of 'spot checks' of interpreters undertaking assignments.
The Language Shop also has a responsibility to assure the correct levels of qualifications, skills, security clearance and experience are held by each linguist through their ongoing assessment programme and in response to complaints or specific concerns during the contract period.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the future supply chain of qualified court interpreters, in the light of the payment levels and cancellation policy established by the Ministry of Justice.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Ministry is keen to maintain the quality and capacity of the future supply chain of qualified court interpreters, to make sure that the justice system continues to be supported by a range of high quality language services that meet the needs of all those that require them.
The Ministry has awarded a contract to 'The Language Shop' (part of the London Borough of Newham) to provide us with independent quality assurance of the translation and interpretation services. This contract also includes the requirement for The Language Shop to develop and administer a Language Professional Trainee Scheme with the primary objective of increasing the resource available to the other language service suppliers in pursuit of fulfilling Commissioning Body bookings.
The Trainee Scheme will provide one or more clear, structured and flexible pathways for part qualified language professionals to become qualified within specified timescales. The Language Shop, and the other language service suppliers, are also required to jointly promote and encourage participation in the Scheme at the point of registration and through industry and academic networks and events.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost, in the last quarter of 2016, of cancellations and adjournments of court hearings because no interpreter arrived, or because the interpreter arrived too late, or was an interpreter in the wrong language, or proved to be an inadequate interpreter; and how this cost compares with each quarter of the previous year.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the contract with <i>thebigword</i> for court interpreters specifies any particular level or type of qualification which individual interpreters are expected to have.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Ministry is committed to ensuring the justice system is supported by a range of high quality language services that meet the needs of all those that require them.
Bookings are classified depending on their complexity level, namely: ‘standard’, ‘complex’ and ‘complex written’. These complexity levels were determined by each Commissioning Body.
I can confirm that the contract sets out the minimum level of qualification and experience a language professional is required to have in order to work on each complexity level of booking. Details of these qualifications can be found at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/975cb99e-fec6-430f-8f31-fd532a907137
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a target figure for cost savings for the provision of court interpreters under the contract with <i>thebigword</i>; and if so, what is it, and against what baseline it is measured.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Ministry is committed to ensuring the justice system is supported by a range of quality language services that meet the needs of all those that require them.
All our new language service contracts contain robust performance and charging provisions which are designed to ensure the value for money and affordability of the services provided by the department's suppliers. However, we have not felt it appropriate to set a target figure for cost savings for the provision of court interpreters, which is a demand-led service, given the importance we attach to the provision of such support to those who most need it.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to include interpreting in public services within the list of excepted professions in Schedule 1 to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 lists areas of activity and proceedings which are exceptions to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA), meaning that the employer or other relevant body is entitled to ask for, and take into account, certain spent cautions and convictions (as well as unspent convictions).
For inclusion within the Exceptions Order, there has to be compelling evidence that there exists an exceptional reason for the disclosure of the spent caution or conviction. For example, where the role involves working with vulnerable people. For the ROA to continue to be effective in achieving its aims of improving access to employment and rehabilitation, exceptions to the Act should only be sought where there is good reason.
The exceptions take into account the role the person is carrying out and not necessarily the profession or job they do (unless it is proportionate to protect all roles in a job or profession). Interpreters in certain public service positions may already be included in the Exceptions Order, for example those working within prisons or those working in certain roles with children or vulnerable adults. It would not be appropriate or proportionate, however, to introduce a blanket provision to cover all such interpreters.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, there will be a continued commitment to the right of interpretation services in the criminal justice system, on the same terms as currently guaranteed under the EU Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
As the Prime Minister has said we will not be providing a running commentary on the negotiations with regards to the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many court cases have had to be rescheduled in each of the last five years because of problems with the interpreting or translating services required; and what was the additional cost incurred in each year as a result of such rescheduling.
Answered by Lord Faulks
Information on the number of trials listed in the criminal courts which were adjourned (ineffective) due to interpreter availability is published in Criminal Court Statistics; the relevant extract is set out below.
| Crown Courts | Magistrates’ Courts | ||||
Year | Number of trials | Adjourned due to interpreter availability | % of trials adjourned due to interpreter availability | Number of trials | Adjourned due to interpreter availability | % of trials adjourned due to interpreter availability |
2011 | 41,412 | 17 | 0.0% | 166,808 | 327 | 0.2% |
2012 | 38,432 | 34 | 0.1% | 156,671 | 608 | 0.4% |
2013 | 33,669 | 37 | 0.1% | 155,087 | 591 | 0.4% |
2014 | 35,974 | 26 | 0.1% | 158,984 | 524 | 0.3% |
2015 | 39,036 | 23 | 0.1% | 162,668 | 474 | 0.3% |
Associated costs for rescheduling such cases are not recorded.
The department continues to monitor the language services contract closely and work with the supplier to further drive improvements and reduce the cost on the taxpayer.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the current United Kingdom law with the European Union Directives on the right to information in criminal proceedings, and on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The UK Government opted into these Directives, on 22 October 2010 and on 8 March 2010 respectively, and in transposing them into domestic law undertook careful analysis of the state of the existing law and whether any new measures were required to ensure compliance. As a result of this assessment, in England and Wales transposition included several new legislative measures, subsequently approved by Parliament, and the Devolved Administrations made similar arrangements. A full transposition table was provided to the European Commission as is normal practice. As with all Directives, the Government keeps compliance under review.