Ministry of Justice: Translation Services
(asked on 20th June 2025) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025.
The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide language services to enable access to justice for users for whom English is not their first language and those who require visual and tactile services, under the provisions of the Equality Act.
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.
The total cost of translation and interpretation services in FY24/25 was £30,208,228.05, excluding British Sign Language and the Welsh language.
To support the answer to part b, the below tables show the split per contract and per commissioning body for FY 24/25. These tables include interpretation and translation services only.
Lot 1 Contract (Face to Face)
Excludes: English
Commissioning Body | Total FY 24/25 |
HM Courts and Tribunals Service | £25,921,301.19 |
The Probation Service | £1,116,839.04 |
Crown Prosecution Service | £316,223.31 |
Cafcass | £241,885.26 |
HM Prison Service | £105,849.83 |
Legal Aid Agency | £77,950.08 |
Office of the Public Guardian | £3,510.95 |
HM Inspectorate of Prisons | £815.90 |
Official Solicitor and Public Trustee | £189.34 |
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman | £329.20 |
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority | £50.65 |
Total | £27,784,944.75 |
Translation & Transcription Contract
Excludes Language pairs:
English (United Kingdom) > Welsh (United Kingdom)
Welsh (United Kingdom) > English (United Kingdom)
English (United Kingdom) > English (United Kingdom)
Commissioning Body | Total FY 24/25 |
HM Prison Service | £1,485,869.95 |
Official Solicitor and Public Trustee | £284,540.39 |
The Probation Service | £280,647.57 |
Crown Prosecution Service | £143,853.76 |
Cafcass | £116,820.56 |
HM Courts and Tribunals Service | £64,112.15 |
Independent Monitoring Authority | £6,057.43 |
HQ | £4,012.18 |
Office of the Public Guardian | £6,496.96 |
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority | £1,095.89 |
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman | £24,431.67 |
HMIPEW | £3,479.31 |
Independent Monitoring Board | £270.13 |
Legal Aid Agency | £11.56 |
Parole Board | £1,382.34 |
HM Inspectorate of Prisons | £201.45 |
Total | £2,423,283.30 |