May 17th, 2012
Valerie Vaz questions
Minister about the failings of outsourced court interpreters
On Tuesday 15 May 2012, at
Justice Oral Questions, Valerie Vaz, MP for Walsall South, asked the Justice
Minister, Crispin Blunt MP, about the performance of the outsourced court
interpreters, Applied Language Solutions (ALS).
Valerie Vaz MP
said:
“Previously,
courts were able to select interpreters from the National Register of Public
Service Interpreters (NRPSI). However, since ALS were awarded the Government
contract to provide all court interpreting services in January 2012, there have
been numerous stories of long delays and instances where interpreters were
late, underprepared, underqualified or failed to turn up at all. This has
resulted in a number of hearings being adjourned and could lead to legal
challenges and miscarriages of justice.
“I met with interpreters
from the West Midlands at my surgery who gave me a dossier of evidence which
raises concerns about the administration of justice as a result of the
substandard nature of the service provided by ALS. I have today written to the
Lord Chancellor and enclosed this dossier. I urge him to act on the findings.”
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