"Slash and burn" (a practising interpreter's views)

"Slash and burn" (a practising interpreter's views)

ITI Bulletin, September-October 2011

Call for end to court interpreting contract chaos

http://www.free-press-release.com/news-call-for-end-to-court-interpreting-contract-chaos-1314735491.html
August 30, 2011

Call for end to court interpreting contract chaos
Freelance court interpreters in the East Midlands are calling on the Government to end what they describe as “chaos and confusion” over plans to hand a £60 million contract for language services in the courts, tribunals and some police services to a commercial agency.

In July, Justice Minister Crispin Blunt MP made an announcement to Parliament that the Ministry of Justice intended to place a huge “framework contract” to provide interpreting and translation services in the criminal justice system to an agency. A Manchester-based company, Applied Language Solutions then started to claim that it had won the contract, however, the Ministry of Justice has so far not confirmed this, or made any other announcement.
Now, the Interpreters are calling for the Ministry to come clean over exactly what is going on. Yelena McCafferty, a Lincolnshire-based National Register Interpreter said “this has become a farce. Applied Language Solutions is recruiting linguists for a contract that does not appear to exist. The Company is trying to hire linguists for the courts and some police services, offering appalling terms and conditions. On some assignments, the effective rate of pay would fall below the minimum wage”.
Applied Language Solutions appears to have changed the terms and conditions for the interpreters it is trying to sign up at least 3 times in the space of month. It also says that linguists who want to work in the criminal justice system need to be re-tested by Middlesex University, but has revealed few details of how this will be done, who the examiners are and exactly how much they will charge interpreters for the exam.
Many qualified interpreters in the East Midlands, who are on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters currently used by the Courts Service, are refusing to sign up with the agency.
Yelena McCafferty added “we have a situation where there does not appear to be a formal contract award, a vague plan to force interpreters to be retested and a company which changes its terms almost on a weekly basis. The Ministry of Justice should clarify what is going on with the National Framework Contract, to end what appears to us to be a confused mess”.
An open letter has now been sent to the Ministry of Justice calling for it to make a clear, public statement to end the unease and uncertainty over the future of interpreting services.

'Major pay cut' for court interpreters in Lincolnshire

http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Court-interpreters-face-huge-pay-cut-new-plans/story-13190969-detail/story.html

August 24, 2011

'Major pay cut' for court interpreters in Lincolnshire

COURT interpreters in Lincolnshire face a dramatic pay cut as a result of a new national database.

Linguist Lounge, operated by Applied Language Solutions (ASL), have a framework agreement to provide interpreters for all courts in England and Wales from October 1.

But interpreters say that ALS are offering them a 60-80 per cent pay cut when factoring in travel time and costs.

They are currently paid £85 for a minimum of three hours' work. They are also given travel expenses.

However, ALS will not be offering travel expenses and will be offering a new, lower three-tier rate of pay.

Director of Boston-based Talk Russian Ltd, Yelena McAfferty, said: "This deal makes it totally unviable to work. We are all refusing to sign up.

"Under these conditions, you are better off working in Asda packing shelves.

"If interpreters in Lincolnshire are not working for the agency then they will have to get them from outside the county."

ALS are asking their interpreters to take a new test as part of their requirements, even if they hold a diploma or degree.

Russian interpreter Tanya Squires said: "We are not prepared to be re-tested because to become a qualified interpreter costs a lot of money.

"There are not many qualified interpreters registered in Lincolnshire."

Miss Squires fears that students who are less qualified will have to fill in for experienced interpreters.

She said: "You have to be prepared for any task and you have to know what it involves."

Steve Brade, whose wife Patrycja works as a Polish interpreter, fears there will be miscarriages of justice as a result of the agreement.

He said: "Nobody's willing to sign the contract. I know only one person that's done it. It seems ASL have taken the contract on without having anyone in place.

"There are already businesses in Scotland who have similar agreements and there have been miscarriages of justice reported in Scotland."

His wife Patrycja Walewska-Brade said that to become a qualified interpreter already costs thousands of pounds.

She said: "Basically we are going to be working for free."

Miss McAfferty said that the Professional Interpreters' Alliance will be looking for a judicial review into the decision.

She said: "We believe this is the only way to save our profession before hundreds of us will have to make tough decisions."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The Government is determined to ensure taxpayers get value for money across the whole of the justice system. We have announced that we will cut interpretation costs by at least £18 million a year, whilst still ensuring high quality interpreters and translators are available to those in need."

Cumbrian court interpreters protest at shake-up

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/cumbrian-court-interpreters-protest-at-shake-up-1.868350?referrerPath=news
16 August 2011

Cumbrian court interpreters protest at shake-up

Interpreters in Cumbria will travel to Manchester next week to take part in a protest over plans to contract with one supplier to provide language services at courts and tribunals.

Manchester-based Applied Language Solutions (ALS) was selected by the Ministry of Justice for the contract to provide the services and a judicial review is being considered against that decision.

Many independent interpreters say they do not want to be agency workers and fear standards will be lowered with cuts in pay and fewer security safeguards leading to miscarriages of justice.

They also fear the change will lead to a drop in interpreting quality.

Guillermo Makin, of the Society for Public Service Interpreting Ltd, said: “When and if a misguided Ministry of Justice (MoJ) project is decided on, and interpreters are hoping in the interest of justice they are not, interpreting services will be farmed out to a private monopoly that will also regulate the profession.

“Interpreter organisations have repeatedly offered the Ministry of Justice a plan in writing that would not increase expenditure but would cut it. There is a precedent.

“Working in collaboration with Cambridgeshire Police, interpreter organisations have helped Cambridgeshire Police save 30 per cent in the last financial year.

“The ill-thought out MoJ scheme will also destroy an asset, the National Register of Public Service Interpreters, (NRPSI) the independent regulator that the 2010 EU directive the UK has signed up to mandates.

“Our cost analysis indicates that instead of achieving savings the scheme without taking lost trials and appeals into account would push spending from £40m to £60m up to £95m.”

Mr Makin says the SPSI would offer a call service that would save police time searching for available interpreters.

Polish translator Mateusz Kiecz, who contacted the News & Star, said: “A lot of professional and experiences linguists around the country are now gathering for walkouts to protest against this contract as it will have detrimental effect on delivery of justice for minorities.

“It could lead to inexperienced and unqualified people working within the delicate environment as the Criminal Justice System.

A spokeswoman for the MoJ said: “Interpreters and translators provide a vital service, ensuring speakers of all languages have equal access to justice.

“The Government is committed to maintaining the high quality of these services, but believes the same level of service can be achieved for less.

“We are in the process of finalising a framework agreement with a commercial provider, which will streamline the system of sourcing and booking an interpreter, saving money and staff time. We are working to ensure all cases are heard efficiently.”

But many independent interpreters say they do not want to be agency workers and fear standards will be lowered with cuts in pay and fewer security safeguards leading to miscarriages of justice.

ALS says the centralisation of bookings makes it possible to “efficiently and fairly distribute the work available for each language in a given region.”

The protest, similar to one held in Bradford last week, will take place in front of Manchester Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in Piccadilly Plaza on Monday at 10am.

Tribunals’ translators walk out in row over contracts

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/tribunals_translators_walk_out_in_row_over_contracts_1_3676543 

13 August 2011

Tribunals’ translators walk out in row over contracts 

Interpreters staged a walkout at Bradford Asylum and Immigration Tribunals yesterday in protest at Ministry of Justice plans to contract with one supplier to provide language services at courts and tribunals.

More than a dozen interpreters registered their resistance to the proposals by protesting for over an hour under banners saying “No to Agency contracts” and “Interpreters United against Agencies” and further demonstrations are planned elsewhere in the coming weeks.

The Ministry of Justice could also face a legal challenge to its new cost-cutting arrangements for the provision of interpretation and translation services.

After a 12-month procurement process Manchester-based Applied Language Solutions (ALS) was selected for the contract to provide the services and a judicial review is being considered against that decision.

A spokeswoman for the MOJ said: “Interpreters and translators provide a vital service, ensuring speakers of all languages have equal access to justice.

“The Government is committed to maintaining the high quality of these services, but believes the same level of service can be achieved for less.

“We are in the process of finalising a framework agreement with a commercial provider, which will streamline the system of sourcing and booking an interpreter, saving money and staff time. We are working to ensure all cases are heard efficiently.”

But many independent interpreters say they do not want to be agency workers and fear standards will be lowered with cuts in pay and fewer security safeguards leading to miscarriages of justice.

Madeleine Lee, speaking for the Professional Interpreters’ Alliance, said the Bradford protest was aimed at raising awareness among lawyers and the public of professional freelance interpreters opposition to the plans.

“Professionally qualified, registered court interpreters are concerned that the Ministry’s proposed framework agreement will lead to a drop in interpreting quality as they risk being replaced by unqualified bilinguals.”

But a spokeswoman for ALS maintained: “ALS has demonstrated that it has the experience and the ability to deliver a reliable, quality service.

“Centralisation of bookings makes it possible to efficiently and fairly distribute the work available for each language in a given region.” 

Private Eye, issue 1295, 12th August

Court Interpreters

ALS well?

Is the agency hired in a £60m deal to provide interpreters for the justice service big enough to handle the work?

Applied Language Solutions (ALS) has entered into a framework agreement with the Minister of Justice to supply interpreters to the courts, Crown Prosecution Service and probation service. Public service interpreters, already unhappy at the principle of giving a monopoly to a single agency, were appalled at the choice of supplier following the successful boycott of ALS in the North West, where a deal with four police forces was eventually scrapped following judicial review (see Eye 1293).

According to published accounts, ALS’s highest annual UK turnover so far has been £3.4m. Indeed, so tiny is the company that it was able to take advantage of the small companies exemption and published only abbreviated accounts for 2010 – meaning it didn’t reveal its profits or losses.

In 2009 it made just £77,000 profit after tax. However, those accounts do reveal that the company “meets its day to day working capital requirements through a mezzanine funding arrangement” paying a 10 percent interest rate, secured against all the assets of the company. In February ALS’s credit rating briefly dropped to a measly six out of 100.

This may sound familiar to readers of ALS founder and director Gavin Wheeldon’s Times interview last year, “How I Made it”. “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,” he said. Within two months he landed an order from Hewlett-Packard, the computer giant, for £22,000 to translate its European sales brochures. “I won the contract and then thought: oh my God, how on earth do I deliver this?” he said.

Private Eye, issue 1295, 12th August, page 29.

“Speak Up, Speak Out”

NUPIT/Unite “Speak Up, Speak Out” campaign in support of the Public Service Interpreting profession

Speak Up, Speak Out campaign

The government has implemented its proposal to make changes to the provision of interpretation and translation services across the justice sector. The government stated that waste and costs needed to be cut, but that it would do so in a way that safeguarded quality. Now the government has signed a Framework Agreement with a commercial agency, namely Applied Language Solutions (ALS) for the provision of interpreters and translators in the Criminal Justice system.

Unite is concerned that the government has chosen a single provider, ignoring the concerns of the interpreting profession and other professionals in Criminal Justice. The danger of this sort of monopoly, which will be paid by the British taxpayer, will undercut professional standards and terms and conditions across the profession. Many professional interpreters are being forced to consider alternative careers due to the cuts in rates for assignments.

If interpreters are not adequately paid, the appropriately qualified individuals will not enter the profession and people in need will not get the service they require.

Interpreters play a vital role in the justice system in this country as they are a voice for people who cannot speak for themselves. If someone who cannot speak much English is the victim of a crime, witnesses wrongdoing or is accused of it themselves, they need to be able to put their point of view before justice can be done. How can they do this without interpretation by someone who knows both English and the foreign language well enough to make sure the message is put across with all the subtleties and fine distinctions which ensure that nothing is omitted or misunderstood?

Non UK citizens in this country who do not speak English are not all scroungers. Most of them work hard to provide services which give all of us a better life-style. They are here because we need them and they deserve to be properly treated by our justice system. It is not right to fob them off with second-best.

Unite wants you to help save professional interpreting and translation services by telling your MP the consequences that outsourcing services in the public sector will bring.

More information: http://www.unitetheunion.org/sectors/community_youth_workers/unite_and_your_organisation/national_union_of_professional/speak_up_speak_out_campaign.aspx

Private Eye, issue 1293, 22nd July 2011

Lost for words

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has chosen a language agency for the outsourcing of court interpreting services which will be horribly familiar to Eye readers.
Yes, the supposedly cash-saving scheme will see all interpreting in courts in England and Wales handed to Applied Language Solutions (ALS), an agency so unpopular with language professionals that it faced a boycott and a legal challenged to its deal with four police forces in North West England (Eyes passim).
The Professional Interpreters Alliance was prepared to take that case to judicial review, but in March, before it reached court, the police caved in and admitted that thanks to its terrible relationship with people who actually do the work, ALS “might not be able to supply interpreters for every assignment of the same qualify and within the same time constraints as had been supplied under the previous arrangements.”
Not that this seemed to worry ALS boss Gavin Wheeldon. When the new deal was announced last week he boasted: “We have already achieved cost savings of up to 70 percent for existing customers within the criminal justice system”.
The Professional Interpreters Alliance noted in a submission to the MoJ that the desire to have all languages serviced at low cost by interpreters within 25 miles is “unrealistic” as “the use of commercial intermediaries will never make rare languages less rare”. As well as offering worse pay and conditions than registered interpreters were used to when dealing directly with the courts, ALS has been criticised for using linguists who are not registered public service interpreters.
The Scottish government made a similar decision two years ago, outsourcing the supply of interpreters for Scottish, the Procurator Fiscal Service and the NHS to a single company, Glasgow-based Global Language Services. Pay rates for interpreters were cut, travel expenses pinched… and yet figures released in April showed that court interpreting costs had doubled to £1.25m. Scottish lawyers and justice campaigners have criticised GLS for using unqualified interpreters in trials. Just last week, a rape and attempted murder trial was halted in Aberdeen after questions were raised about the accuracy of the Polish interpreter, both in asking questions and relaying the accused’s replies. The judge said the delay was “an unfortunate and unsatisfactory state of affairs”.

Private Eye, issue 1293, 22nd July 2011, Page 32.

MoJ in line of fire over interpreters contract

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/moj-attacked-over-interpreters-contract
Thursday 14 July 2011 by Catherine Baksi

MoJ in line of fire over interpreters contract

The Ministry of Justice could face a legal challenge to its new cost-cutting arrangements for the provision of interpretation and translation services across the justice sector.

In a move expected to save at least £18m annually on its current £60m spend, the MoJ announced last week that is to contract with one supplier to provide language services to criminal justice agencies.

After a 12-month procurement process, Manchester-based Applied Language Solutions (ALS) has been awarded the contract to provide the services for the next five years, beginning as early as September.

Under the agreement, it will provide services for HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the National Offender Management Service.

The police and other organisations will also be able to use its services under the same framework agreement.

However, some professional organisations representing interpreters and translators have voiced concerns about the change and the consultation process leading up to it, and the quality standards of interpreters used by ALS.

A spokeswoman for one group, Professional Interpreters Alliance (PIA), said it is ‘seeking advice’ on what legal action it can take to challenge the MoJ’s decision.

To date, translation and interpretation services have been provided under a national agreement, which requires qualified interpreters to be registered with the Register of Public Service Interpreters (RPSI) and its sign-language equivalent.

Opponents of the new scheme, which will render the RPSI defunct, say it will lower the quality of language services provided.

They also claim the consultation process was conducted too quickly, and that the views of many respondents were ignored.

In a joint paper sent to the MoJ, seven interpreters’ groups including PIA, suggest that scrapping the national agreement is ‘unlawful’ and that the new arrangements are ‘procedurally flawed’ because no equality impact assessment was carried out until very late in the process.

They question the scale of savings that the MoJ will make, saying the figures are not based on any evidence.

The PIA spokeswoman also questioned the standards of service provided by interpreters employed by ALS.

Earlier this year, the group sought a judicial review of a move by four police forces to outsource their interpretation services in an exclusive contract with ALS.

The police admitted they had not conducted a proper impact assessment.

In a letter to stakeholders following the consultation on the new framework agreement, the MoJ said it had considered all responses, but did not share concerns that the new scheme would lower standards.

An ALS spokeswoman said: ‘ALS has demonstrated that it has the experience and the ability to deliver a reliable, quality service.

'There will always be rare occasions where it is difficult to find an interpreter at short notice, due to location or a specific language demand - and this is unavoidable regardless of the service provider.

'However, our fulfilment rates to date have been excellent and are not a source of concern for our existing customers.

‘From the official contract award date, quality control measures will be ascertained through an external and completely independent assessment process, developed and delivered by independent institutions.

'All interpreters currently working or planning to work in criminal justice settings will be required to have completed this assessment process successfully, which we believe will eliminate any risk of poor quality interpreting, which has been a concern to the profession for many years... All interpreters will [also] be required to complete annual continuing professional development work.’

 

Fight or flight?

Fight or flight?

ITI Bulletin, July-August 2011