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SIR – Your report on the costs of providing interpreters (September 1) reminds me of the time I was chairing a domestic violence case in Newbury magistrates’ court between a married couple from Slough.
Dear Editor,
On 31st August 2020 you published an article by Sophie Barnes the title of which was “Translation work for foreign crime suspects costs UK £450,000 a week” and its first paragraph read “Government officials have spent £450,000 a week on language experts to provide translation services to foreign-speaking criminals and people caught up in the UK’s legal system.”
Ministry of Justice spent £23.4 million in just over a year, much of it on Polish, Lithuanian and Romanian speakers
Please provide a copy of any instructions issued by the UK government/Ministry of Justice/Public Health England or other relevant authorities to be used by courts in England and Wales in relation to ensuring a 2 meter / 1+ meter distance for face-to-face interpreters working with defendants and witnesses in view of the COVID-19 situation. Please provide a copy of any relevant guidelines in line of Question 1 above in respect of any PPE interpreters are to be supplied with when working for HMCTS directly or via contracting agencies.
