thebigword
Ministry of Justice written question – answered on 26th
January 2017.
Baroness
Coussins Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a
target figure for cost savings for the provision of court interpreters under
the contract with thebigword; and if so, what is it, and against what baseline
it is measured.
Lord Keen of
Elie The Advocate-General for Scotland, Lords Spokesperson (Ministry of
Justice)
The Ministry is committed to ensuring the justice
system is supported by a range of quality language services that meet the needs
of all those that require them.
All our new language service contracts contain
robust performance and charging provisions which are designed to ensure the
value for money and affordability of the services provided by the department's
suppliers. However, we have not felt it appropriate to set a target figure for
cost savings for the provision of court interpreters, which is a demand-led
service, given the importance we attach to the provision of such support to
those who most need it.
thebigword
Ministry of Justice written question – answered on 26th
January 2017.
Baroness
Coussins Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the
contract with thebigword for court interpreters specifies any particular level
or type of qualification which individual interpreters are expected to have.
Lord Keen of
Elie The Advocate-General for Scotland, Lords Spokesperson (Ministry of
Justice)
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.
Bookings are classified depending on their complexity
level, namely: ‘standard’, ‘complex’ and ‘complex written’. These complexity
levels were determined by each Commissioning Body.
I can confirm that the contract sets out the
minimum level of qualification and experience a language professional is
required to have in order to work on each complexity level of booking. Details
of these qualifications can be found at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/975cb99e-fec6-430f-8f31-fd532a907137
Courts: Interpreters
Ministry of Justice written question – answered on 26th
January 2017.
Baroness
Coussins Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost,
in the last quarter of 2016, of cancellations and adjournments of court
hearings because no interpreter arrived, or because the interpreter arrived too
late, or was an interpreter in the wrong language, or proved to be an
inadequate interpreter; and how this cost compares with each quarter of the
previous year.
Lord Keen of
Elie The Advocate-General for Scotland, Lords Spokesperson (Ministry of
Justice)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Courts: Interpreters
Ministry of Justice written question – answered on 26th
January 2017.
Baroness
Coussins Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their
assessment of the future supply chain of qualified court interpreters, in the
light of the payment levels and cancellation policy established by the Ministry
of Justice.
Lord Keen of
Elie The Advocate-General for Scotland, Lords Spokesperson (Ministry of
Justice)
The Ministry is keen to maintain the quality and
capacity of the future supply chain of qualified court interpreters, to make
sure that the justice system continues to be supported by a range of high
quality language services that meet the needs of all those that require them.
The Ministry has awarded a contract to 'The
Language Shop' (part of the London Borough of Newham) to provide us with
independent quality assurance of the translation and interpretation services.
This contract also includes the requirement for The Language Shop to develop
and administer a Language Professional Trainee Scheme with the primary
objective of increasing the resource available to the other language service
suppliers in pursuit of fulfilling Commissioning Body bookings.
The Trainee Scheme will provide one or more clear,
structured and flexible pathways for part qualified language professionals to
become qualified within specified timescales. The Language Shop, and the other
language service suppliers, are also required to jointly promote and encourage
participation in the Scheme at the point of registration and through industry
and academic networks and events.
Courts: Interpreters
Ministry of Justice written question – answered on 26th
January 2017.
Baroness
Coussins Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the provision
of court interpreters is being independently monitored.
Lord Keen of
Elie The Advocate-General for Scotland, Lords Spokesperson (Ministry of
Justice)
The new language service contracts began on 31 October
2016 and are subject to robust governance arrangements.
These include monthly meetings with suppliers and
stakeholders to monitor and discuss, in detail, the quality of the services
being provided and performance against contractual performance indicators. The
contracts also provide for the Ministry to audit the suppliers to verify the
accuracy of contractual payments, management information, and compliance with
contractual obligations.
In addition, the Ministry has awarded a contract to
'The Language Shop' (part of the London Borough of Newham) to provide
independent quality assurance of the services provided under the other
contracts, including those awarded to the thebigword Ltd. The Language Shop
undertakes this assurance in a number of ways, including managing the
Ministry’s register of interpreters, conducting an annual audit of supplier
processes for introducing new linguists, and a programme of 'spot checks' of
interpreters undertaking assignments.
The Language Shop also has a responsibility to
assure the correct levels of qualifications, skills, security clearance and
experience are held by each linguist through their ongoing assessment programme
and in response to complaints or specific concerns during the contract period.
thebigword
Ministry of Justice written question – answered on 26th
January 2017.
Baroness
Coussins Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which company, or
companies, are being sub-contracted by thebigword to provide court interpreting
services; and whether those companies are subject to quality assurance.
Lord Keen of
Elie The Advocate-General for Scotland, Lords Spokesperson (Ministry of
Justice)
To ensure a high and consistent level of fulfilment
across all geographical areas and in rare languages, thebigword have partnered
with a number of subcontractors, namely: Global Language Services Limited,
Cintra Translations Limited, Debonair Languages Ltd, Supreme Linguistic
Services Ltd, Mango Spice Language Solutions, J-anne Interpreting and
Translation Service Limited, Global Translation Services and Language River.
Thebigword must ensure that its subcontracts
contain obligations no less onerous on the sub-contractor than those imposed on
them by the Ministry, including those relating to quality and performance
standards. Thebigword are also responsible for carrying out audits to ensure
subcontractor adherence to the contract service specification.
All language professionals provided by thebigword,
whether directly or via subcontractor, will be subject to ongoing quality assurance
provided by The Language Shop. This includes a programme of 'spot checks' of
interpreters undertaking assignments.
