https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/features/criminal-trial-services-slowly-does-it/5125627.article
19 January 2026 by Eduardo Reyes
The Ministry of Justice claims staggeringly high performance levels for key outsourced services upon which the conduct of criminal trials depends. Timely delivery of prisoners to courts is apparently achieved 99.8% of the time. Only 0.7% of ineffective trials are delayed due to the lack of an interpreter. Court interpreters surveyed are happy with their lot. So why does the Bar Council’s new chair single out prisoner escort service problems as ‘the whine that became a roar’? In truth, it is easy to find routine examples of late transport delaying trials, adding to the backlog. And ‘satisfied’ interpreters have been striking over pay and unreasonable work demands. The scale of these outsourcing problems has the potential to undermine the government’s criminal justice reforms. […]
‘More than 99% of trials needing interpreters go ahead as scheduled,’ says the Ministry of Justice in response to the Gazette’s questions about the delivery of interpreting services in criminal trials. Two companies hold the contract for these outsourced services: thebigword and Clarion UK Ltd. An MoJ spokesperson adds: ‘The majority of interpreters were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience of interpreting assignments for the MoJ.’
That picture is fiercely contested. In 2024, the House of Lords Public Services Committee gathered evidence on the standard of interpreting services provided through these outsourcing contracts. Its findings were published in March 2025.
The committee concluded that the current state of interpreting services in the courts is inefficient and ineffective, and poses a threat to the administration of justice.
Peers identified ‘a clear disconnect between what the government thinks is happening, what the companies contracted to deliver the services believe is happening, and what frontline interpreters and legal professionals report is happening with interpreting services in the courts’.
The mismatch, the committee continued, suggests that ‘significant issues with court interpreting may be missed in the data the MoJ gathers, making it difficult for the MoJ or parliament to assess the scale and impact of problems in this system and the impact of these problems on access to justice’.
The committee noted that in 2024, over 5,000 requests for language services in courts went unfilled. It added: ‘Many failures are not officially recorded as complaints.’
Interpreters who provide their services through thebigword took strike action in 2024 and 2025. Grievances included inadequate rates, not receiving payments to which they were entitled and being required to cover multiple cases for no additional cash.
On behalf of its members, the National Register of Public Service Interpreters published a statement: ‘As long as bookings continue to be outsourced by agencies at inadequate rates offered to qualified and regulated interpreters, the current backlog… will continue growing.’
The Lords committee recommended the MoJ halt the procurement process for a new interpreting services contract, due to complete later this year. The department has rebuffed the plea.
A spokesperson for thebigword tells the Gazette: ‘Our priority is delivering a high-quality, value-for-money interpreting service that helps courts function effectively and ensures access to justice. We greatly value the professionalism of our interpreters who are at the heart of what we do and we constantly review performance to look for ways of strengthening the service.’
Clarion UK Ltd was approached for comment. [...]
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