Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if they will make it their policy to not provide (a) translation and (b) interpretation for speakers of non-UK languages for services provided by their Department.

DWP has a statutory duty to provide language services to its customers in line with the Equality Act. The aim of the service is to provide spoken and written translation services for staff and customers who are deaf, hard of hearing or do not speak English as a first language in order to access DWP services. Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery. DWP has no plans to move away from this statutory duty.