Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Legal Aid Agency in ensuring solicitors use qualified and security‑vetted interpreters in legally‑aided family proceedings.

Interpreters play a crucial role in family court proceedings, ensuring that individuals who do not speak English or have hearing impairments can fully participate and understand the legal process.

For most family court proceedings, His Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Services is responsible for securing interpreters for use during hearings. Neither legal aid providers nor the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) are involved in this process.

A legal aid solicitor may instruct an interpreter for use outside of hearings. All providers who undertake legal aid work are independent providers of legal aid services and are subject to oversight and regulation by relevant professional bodies rather than the LAA. When instructing interpreters in legal aid cases, legal aid providers must ensure that they adhere to the requirements set out under paragraphs 2.48-2.51 of the 2024 Standard Civil Contract: Specification. This includes provisions regarding the level of qualification that the interpreter must hold and the evidence which must be obtained and retained on file regarding this and the circumstances in which it is permissible to instruct a non-qualified interpreter.

The LAA undertakes a range of audit and assurance activity to ensure legal aid providers are complying with their contractual obligations. Clause 24 of the 2024 Standard Civil Contract: Standard Terms empowers the LAA to apply a sanction where breaches of contract are identified.

These contractual provisions act as an effective safeguard to ensure the most appropriate interpreter is used having regard to the specific circumstances of the case.