Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the (1) qualifications, and (2) experience, required for interpreters to be listed on the Ministry of Justice register to the same levels as interpreters joining the National Register of Public Service Interpreters.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring the justice system is supported by a suite of high- quality language service contracts, that meet the needs of all those that require them.
The contracts have a clearly defined list of qualifications, skills, experience and vetting requirements interpreters must meet, which have been designed to meet the needs of the justice system. These are
set out in our contracts, which can be found at the following link:
Our qualification and experience requirements and associated quality assurance arrangements provided by The Language Shop (TLS), have been carefully considered and have been designed so as to maintain the quality of interpretation provided under the contract, meet the demands and requirements of the Ministry and other contract users and encourage new entrants to the profession.
The Ministry of Justice will shortly be undertaking work to develop the next generation of Language Services contracts.
For the period 01/01/2019 – 21/05/2021, 169 language professionals have been removed and 40 language professionals have been sanctioned as a result of a Spot Check or In-Person Assessment.
The required standard comprises a number of different elements
All interpreters are required to meet the qualification requirements set out in the contract between the MoJ and the language service supplier. The requirements vary depending on the complexity of the bookings and the language in question. The specific requirement in each case is set out here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/975cb99e-fec6-430f-8f31-fd532a907137?p=@=UFQxblRRPT0=NjJNT08
TLS review the qualifications at the point of carrying out an assessment of an interpreter and will remove the interpreter if the supplier fails to demonstrate that they hold the correct qualifications.
All interpreters are required to comply with the MoJ code of conduct at all times. Any serious breach of the code of conduct, observed through an assessment by TLS or identified and confirmed through a complaint investigation, will result in removal from the register.
Interpreters also have to demonstrate competence in language proficiency, interpreting/professional skills, and subject matter knowledge. Interpreters are regularly assessed to ensure their interpreting meets the requirements of the assignment, being observed across each of the three competencies.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many court hearings held remotely since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic have (1) included the virtual presence of an interpreter, and (2) been rescheduled because an interpreter was needed but not available. [T]
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Information on how many hearings held remotely since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic for spoken and non-spoken interpretation is provided below. The difference in start dates reflect the fact that thebigword’s system did not start recording any remote bookings until 30th March. We expect that very few took place before this date.
| Dates | Number of telephone interpreting hearings | Number of video remote interpreting hearings |
thebigword – spoken interpretation | 30.3.2020 – 12.6.2020 | 2769 | 1470 |
Clarion uk – Non- spoken interpretation | 23.3.2020 – 12.6.2020 | N/A | 288 |
The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on all hearings that have been rescheduled because an interpreter was unavailable. HMCTS performance data, including ineffective trial rates due to interpreter availability, is currently not available for this period.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the contract with thebigword to provide interpreting and translation services in the criminal justice system will be reviewed.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Language Services contracts commenced on 31 October 2016, with thebigword appointed as providers of spoken face to face, telephone and video interpretation as well as translation and transcription services.
The initial term of the contracts is four years with up to three one-year extensions available.
The initial term of the contracts with thebigword is due to expire on 30th October 2020. The first option to extend for one-year has been agreed for translation and transcription services, and has also been approved for spoken face to face, telephone and video interpretation services.
The future of the contract, including the possibility of further extensions, is currently being considered.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they expect to bring forward measures to ensure that Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament, providing for the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings, will be incorporated into UK statute before 29 March; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings was transposed into UK domestic law by 27 October 2013 when it came into force. The Government has no plan currently to alter those provisions.
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