Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of introducing an independent regulator to oversee the commercial agencies it appoints for the provision of interpreting and translation services.

The Ministry of Justice does not require the introduction of an independent regulator due to the existing, robust assurance procedures in place.

All interpreters under the Ministry of Justice contracts are subject to a quality assurance regime, which is independent of the suppliers that provide our interpreters. The Department has a dedicated Commercial and Contract Management team that oversees the quality assurance provider and the suppliers of interpreters. Their work includes conducting audits to ensure that data is reliable and reviewing quality and complaints data to ensure that the service is delivering for the taxpayer.

Performance data for the language interpreter and translation services is published on the GOV.UK website.