MoJ warned two years ago over interpreters
Ministry of Justice officials were warned two years ago that a central contract for courtroom interpreter services would lead to wrongful detentions, the Gazette has learned. Emails from a body representing interpreters also warned in 2010 that members would boycott the scheme.
The MoJ and its contractor Applied Language Solutions (ALS) have faced a barrage of criticism since the new hub arrangement began on 1 February, with reports of trials and immigration hearings postponed because no one was available to interpret.
The government this week told parliament it was unaware of any problems with the service until 14 February - five days after the Gazette first reported serious flaws. The MoJ now says it expects immediate improvements, after admitting early problems were ‘unacceptable’. ALS said it is investigating complaints and that performance is already getting better.
In a dossier sent to the MoJ in 2010, Zuzana Windle, then-director of the Professional Interpreters’ Alliance, said attempts to contract regional police work to an agency were having a detrimental effect on people from ethnic minorities.
She warned that custody officers had been forced to obtain a third of interpreters from alternative sources, with suspects detained for up to 30 hours because no interpreters were available. The fear was that similar problems would arise if an agency provided interpreters for courts and tribunals.
Windle said that ‘the position of our members is that they will not work for agencies and, should the contract go ahead, they will seek to leave the profession’.
At the time, the MoJ said concerns were being considered and reassurances had already been given that the service would operate successfully.
Hearings across the country were delayed this week because of absent interpreters.
A trial at Leeds Crown Court involving a Czech national charged with affray and possession of a bladed implement was halted, with the delay set to costs thousands of pounds. Further problems have been reported to the Gazette in Peterborough, Bradford, Stoke-on-Trent, Stratford in London and North Shields.
Some freelance interpreters have also raised concerns that agency staff are arriving at courts or tribunals without being properly vetted.
The MoJ denied that agency interpreters are unqualified or have not undergone appropriate Criminal Records Bureau checks. A spokesman said: ‘The agreement with ALS is clear about the standards that are expected of interpreters including qualifications, experience and vetting. There is an additional requirement for all face-to-face interpreters to undertake an assessment which is run independently of the supplier by selected universities.’
A spokeswoman for ALS said resources have increased ‘considerably’ in the last two weeks.
‘Assigning qualified and experienced linguists to assignments and insisting on continuous professional development, while reducing operational inefficiencies, remains the focus of our service,’ she added.
Comments
MoJ warned two years ago over interp MoJ must address the chaos
Both articles address the issues of court and police Interpreters, Brilliant articles written in Gazette by PIA Director Madeline Lee and ex Director Zuzana Windle Many thanks.
The articles covers beauty and reliability of previous fault-free National Agreement that was put in place by experts after more than a decade of hard work. It highlights dangers of an ill-thought new frame work agreement with a commercial agency Applied language solutions, ALS (now owned by Capita). The contract presents an imminent danger with catastrophic results for the long term. The article also invites a way forward that has a light at the end of this awkward tunnel the MOJ got itself into. The magical name of the company and it’s glossy presentation mostly cut and paste from the internet sites has managed to win the hearts and minds of MOJ & Ministers but it could not and will not win the proud interpreters and will never be able to deliver the contract in its virtuous
For the sake of saving few Pounds per interpreter’s assignment the MOJ signed the new agreement with ALS and MOJ already managed few individuals become multimillionaires whilst qualified interpreters are heading towards the job centres. Not to mention the suffering of the defendants\witnesses, inconvenience and cost of delays on both sides, prosecution & defence.
Hope the MoJ and Ministers come to common sense approach and seeks negotiations with professionals (the interpreters), reinstate the Nation Agreement not only for the courts and tribunals but throughout Police forces nationwide.
Current NHS Parliamentary debate on care homes and my solutions.
I am contemplating to create a company with a name something like “home care solutions”, (Just a joke) if I win the nationwide contract from NHS, my priorities will be to introduce guidelines, No lights on after 6pm in any care home, max room temperature 15c. No Doctors appointment necessary, nurses will do job, mix and match medication among patients and in emergency no need to call for the doctor, cleaners will be allowed resuscitate the patients, one meals will be served per day per resident etc etc , that will save NHS a few quid but certainly I will have a few Billions in my bank too, because I am A Commercial Company, I do not have blood or feelings in my body, instead I have “Greed” crammed in every vein of my body.
Khalid Qureshi, NRPSI
Court interpreters
Please clarify a comment from Director Windel "the position of our members is that they will not work for agencies". Does this mean that interpreters will not work for ALS, or for any agency? Surely if it means any agency then that is a rather foolish position to take. Many people have had their jobs outsourced and work for agencies, why should interpreters be a special case. I watched the TV programme "One born every minute" 29 feb and a Lithuanian lady refused an interpreter in hosptal because she did not want her private life exposed to a stranger. I consider an interpreter in a medical situation, possibly life or death, to be more important that a court interpreter where nobody would die from a delayed hearing or even a wrong decision. There seems to be a lot of agencies supplying the NHS with interpreters so why are court interpreters special cases?
ALS still meets its targets, even if another agency is used
Recently I have noticed that the courts are calling solicitors to send qualified interpreters to court on behalf of the CPS, with limited success. Others commenting have stated that interpreters are not working for ALS or any other agency, while the MoJ contract is in place.
Since the redacted MoJ contract has been found by another contributor:
http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/~/docs/DocumentDownloadHandler.ashx?noticeDocumentId=17583&fileId=953a7a9e-5522-4e7c-8036-ea2d0775cec7
I thought I'd take a look to see if the interpreters are right:
p99: Section 2 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
J4 Evidence that availability of all languages came from within a 25 mile radius 95%
J5 Evidence that 98% of all assignments requested were fulfilled
(excluding cancellation by collaborative partner)
...
J9 Evidence that 98% of assignments were delivered on time
p158: We would recommend that the KPI reflects the SLA in that 100% of bookings are accepted and processed by Applied Language Solutions, whilst 98% of all bookings are then delivered successfully, excluding any cancelations by the Collaborative Partner.
HOWEVER, I really do think this is highly questionable. It is analogous to the following:
Suppose a buildings manager engaged a cleaning company for its offices on a daily basis, and the sub-contract cleaner only rarely turned up.
Meanwhile, in emergency mode, the cleaning company would organise available personnel from ANY other source to do the job whenever the cleaner had failed, so that the offices would be in an acceptable state. The cleaning company would still have met its targets.
My interpretation is then that ALS will meet their performance targets even if interpreters are working for other agency. The interpreters may therefore be right.
Health interpreters
Most of us are against outsourcing in the NHS too. Ask any NHS interpreter if they prefer to work for the (few) PCTs that have in-house interpreting services or for an agency and the great majority will tell you that they prefer to work for the PCT directly even if they are paid a bit less.
Very often we see in the news "NHS spends xx millions on translators (sic)", but what most people don't realise is that the millions go to the interpreting agencies, the interpreters get peanuts.
MoJ warned two years ago over interpreters
Yes, the MoJ knows all about it:
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1410082_police_rip_up_contract_with_interpreter_agency_after_claims_it_was_hampering_investigations
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/row-erupts-over-police-interpreters
The MoJ knows how this agency works, they know registered interpreters do NOT want to work for this agency, they know we are against outsourcing and they have ignored proposals.
The Way We Live Now
"I was ringing up and pretending I was this huge translation company when really it was just me in the back bedroom with a phone and PC" Gavin Wheeldon in an interview with The Times.
"He was our little Arthur Daley...my dad always said, if he didn`t end up behind bars he`d end up making a fortune !" Family comment from the Wikipedia entry on Gavin Wheeldon, boss of Atrocious Language Problems.
In the recent past, such commercial buccaneers (like that eminently likeable man who runs Ryanair ) were kept well away from the wheels of justice (unless they actually appeared in the dock). The lamentable difference now appears to be that the drivers of the malevolent Clown Car we have as a Government deem it acceptable for them to be enlisted in the fleecing-sorry-help-given to vulnerable people. What next, "EasyJustice" ?
Isleworth Crown Court
A fraud trial was adjourned after a juror sent a note to the Judge indicating that the defendant was not getting a fair trial as his interpreter was incompetent. Three days of court time wasted; but hey, a few pounds saved on the interpreter budget!
Isleworth Crown Court
Hi Mark,
Could you please report it here: http://www.rpsi.name/default/
Thank you very much.