Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what translation arrangements his Department has put in place to enable efficient and accurate handling of Welsh language correspondence from (a) MPs and (b) the general public.

The Department for Transport and its Agencies, with the exception of the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), have published Welsh Language Schemes which include a commitment to reply with a signed letter in Welsh when someone writes to us in Welsh. The target times for replying to letters in Welsh are the same as for those in English.

The VCA translates information for the New Car Fuel Consumption and CO2 guide from English into Welsh using a suitably qualified third party supplier each year. Should the VCA receive any correspondence in Welsh from an MP or member of the public a translation would be arranged and the MP would receive copies of the response in both Welsh and English.

The Department for Transport uses the Crown Commercial Services translation framework to arrange translations.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency uses the Welsh Language Unit to arrange translations.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency engages the services of a specialist external service provider for translation services.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency uses a variety of external providers for translation services, depending on the size and nature of the task, and can also use cross-government frameworks.