Language deal blasted as ‘shambolic’

A Government department has been branded “shambolic” by MPs over its handling of the ALS court translation contract

In one case an unqualified man stand in for his translator-wife as interpreter in a murder trial.

The Ministry of Justice ignored warnings that the quality of services would be sacrificed when it went to a private contractor for translators, the Justice Committee said.

“The Ministry of Justice’s handling of the outsourcing of court interpreting services has been nothing short of shambolic,” committee chair Sir Alan Beith said.

The contract with Delph-based Applied Language Solutions (ALS), now known as Capita Translation and Interpreting, led to court proceedings being held up and even cases collapsing after it came into effect early last year.

Justice Minister Helen Grant said while there had been “significant” issues at the start of the contract, the department had seen dramatic improvements after taking “swift and robust action”.

A lack of registered interpreters, resulting in poor quality of services and a struggle to meet demand, was among the problems faced by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), the committee said.

Issues raised included interpreters being asked to travel long distances to attend court, poor levels of pay, lack of qualifications and mistranslations.