Nothing lost in translation

OLDHAM Council has reassured residents it isn’t wasting money on translation services.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles criticised councils for translating their publications into foreign languages.

He claimed stopping widespread translation services could save local authorities £20 million a year.

But Oldham Council only prints publications in English - and residents who use the council’s translation for legal documents actually make the council money.

The authority’s translation service spent £37,510.18 on translations services in 2011-12 — a figure that had fallen for the third year running.

Council staff often give information to groups, reaching up to 30 people at a time at coffee mornings, rather than in one-to-one translations sessions.

But the council must bear the cost of using British Sign Language, which is a statutory obligation