Interpreters in Northamptonshire’s courts cost more than £1,000 per hearing

http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/crime/crime-news/interpreters-in-northamptonshire-s-courts-cost-more-than-1-000-per-hearing-1-7363145
4 May 2016

Interpreters in Northamptonshire’s courts cost more than £1,000 per hearing

The county’s magistrates courts and Northampton Crown Court use Capita TI for face-to-face, telephone and written translation for defendants and witnesses.

Figures requested of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) show that the total cost of these to the tax payer was £167,000 from October 2014 to October 2015.

Although usage statistics for the same period could not be obtained from the Government, the MoJ did reveal that in the whole of 2015, translators were used 143 times.

It suggests that interpreters are being paid at more than £1,000 per session.

A Government spokesman claimed the MoJ’s new interpreting contract has cut translation costs significantly.

He said: “It replaced an inefficient system where interpreters were booked by individual courts and created a more efficient and co-ordinated system.

“Since 2012, the Government has spent £38 million less on interpreter and translation services nationally.”