Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the level of take-up by defendants of their right to be tried in a language they understand.

The Ministry has several statutory obligations to provide interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings for defendants.

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. My officials monitor demand for these services and work with our suppliers to ensure the requests of these services are met. The latest official statistics published in September 2017, shows 98% of language service assessments are fulfilled.