Interpreting and translation services in the courts - Inquiry

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8493/interpreting-and-translation-services-in-the-courts/

Interpreting and translation services in the courts

Inquiry

Many public services use interpreting and translation services (ITS) for users of public services who would otherwise struggle to interact with them. The aim of this short inquiry will be to focus on procuring interpreting and translation services in the courts, policy recommendations for supporting services providers, and the potential role of technology in enabling interpreting and translation services.

This inquiry is currently accepting evidence

The committee wants to hear your views. We welcome submissions from anyone with answers to the questions in the call for evidence. You can submit evidence until Monday 30 September 2024.

https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/3437/

Overview 

The House of Lords Public Services Committee has launched a short inquiry into Interpreting and Translation Services in the Courts. 

The Committee is inviting relevant stakeholders to submit written evidence by 30 September 2024. 

Background 

Many public services use interpreting and translation services (ITS) for users of public services who would otherwise struggle to communicate with them. The aim of this short inquiry will be to focus on the use of ITS in the courts. 

The legal right to an interpreter at court is protected within Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998, which states that “(3) everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum rights - (e) to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand or speak the language used in court.” More broadly, the Public Sector Equality Duty has relevant requirements to advance equality of opportunity and eliminate discrimination. 

Last year the Association of Translation Companies convened a ‘public sector working group’, consisting of leading language service providers as well as interpreting and translation associations and organisations. The group published a report in October 2023 outlining recommendations for tackling the procurement and provision of language services for the public sector. The report found that interpreting and translation processes are “fragmented across the four UK nations, Government departments and different public services, which complicates understanding of procurement and fulfilment processes, and consequently creates challenges around implementing and monitoring best practice at all levels”.  

The report also highlighted the vulnerability of interpreters and translators, as self-employed freelancers, to economic changes. This was further highlighted in a 2023 BBC study that found that 10% of public service interpreters were unlikely to continue in the profession in the next 12 months due to poor remuneration. In addition to retention issues, there was a 33% decline in registrations with the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) between 2011 and 2023. 

This inquiry seeks to understand the experience of procuring interpreting and translation services in the courts, policy recommendations for supporting service providers, and the potential role of technology in enabling interpreting and translation services. 

Hearing from a range of different perspectives ensures the Committee are better informed and can more effectively scrutinise public policy and legislation. We would therefore like to hear your views. 

Questions

The Committee is seeking evidence in response to the following questions. It is not necessary to answer all the questions. Short submissions are preferred. A submission longer than six pages should include a one-page summary. 

1) To what extent do the current interpreting and translation services provided in courts meet the needs of those involved in proceedings, including defendants, witnesses, prosecutors and legal professionals?

I. How have interpreting and translation services changed in recent years?

2) What are the key issues in the provision of interpreting and translation services and what impact do they have on the running of the courts, public trust, interpreters and translators.

I. Is there data on the number of miscarriages of justice due to ITS error?

3) Are the required qualifications and experience of interpreting and translation services in the courts consistent?

I. Are the recommended requirements standardised across all governing bodies, contractors, and institutions?

II. Are the current requirements fit for purpose?

4) What quality assurance and complaints procedures are in place in relation to interpreting and translation services in the courts?

I. How easy is it for people to report or submit a complaint?

II. What data exists on the number and types of complaints made?

5) How easy is it to recruit and retain skilled interpreters and translators to work in the courts?

I. What opportunities, barriers and pitfalls exist and how might these be addressed?

6) What is the potential role of new technology (such as artificial intelligence, machine translation and the digitisation of court proceedings) in the future of interpreting or translation services in the courts?

I. Would adoption of this technology in the courts be an appropriate use?

II. What tools already are already in use in ITS, what form do they take and in what situations are they used? III. Is the current and future ITS workforce being prepared to work with technology? If so, how?

7) What is the current capability and accuracy of market leading artificial intelligence and machine translation tools in relation to ITS?

I. How does this vary between languages (e.g. low resource languages or languages with relatively few written language samples), interpreting (speech to text) and translation (text to text)?

II. What capability do these tools have to deal with dialects, nuance and colloquial use of language?

Request for written evidence

Guidance for submissions

Written submissions should be made online using the written submission form available at https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/3437/. We would be grateful for submissions by 23:59 on 30 September 2024.

If you have difficulty making a submission online, wish to submit evidence in an alternative format, or would like to make a submission after the formal deadline for evidence, please contact the committee staff at hlpublicservices@parliament.uk or by telephoning 020 7219 6154.

Submissions should be original and produced for the Committee. Submissions that have been previously published will not be accepted as evidence.

Short submissions are preferred. A submission longer than six pages should include a summary. Paragraphs should be numbered. Submissions should be in Microsoft Word or another editable format and should comprise a single file. Any annexes or appendices should be included in the same file.

Evidence that is accepted by the Committee may be published online at any stage. If you do not wish your submission to be published, you must explain your reasons. The final decision on whether to publish evidence rests with the Committee. If you wish to include private or confidential information in your submission to the Committee, please contact the Clerk of the Committee to discuss this before making your submission.

Once evidence is published it becomes subject to parliamentary copyright and is protected by parliamentary privilege. Once you have received acknowledgement that the evidence has been accepted you will receive a further email, and at this point you may publicise or publish your evidence yourself. In doing so you must indicate that it was prepared for the Committee. You should be aware that your publication or re-publication of your evidence may not be protected by parliamentary privilege. 

Personal contact details will be removed from evidence before publication but will be retained by the Committee Office and used for specific purposes relating to the Committee’s work, for instance to seek additional information.

Persons who submit written evidence, and others, may be invited to give oral evidence. Oral evidence is usually given in public at Westminster and broadcast online; transcripts are also taken and published online. Persons invited to give oral evidence will be notified separately of the procedure to be followed and the topics likely to be discussed. 

All submissions made through the written submission form will be acknowledged automatically by email. Please do complete the diversity monitoring form sent with this acknowledgement.

You can follow the progress of the inquiry at:

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8493/interpreting-and-translation-services-in-the-courts/