Peers to probe adequancy of interpreting services in courts
A House of Lords committee has launched an inquiry into the adequacy of interpreting and translation services (ITS) in the courts – and whether technology like artificial intelligence (AI) could help.
It comes amid “concerning reports” of problems accessing these services in the courts, said Baroness Morris of Yardley, chair of the public services committee.
The inquiry is seeking to understand the experience of procuring ITS in the courts, policy recommendations for supporting service providers, and the potential role of technology in enabling ITS.
It follows a report last autumn from a professional interpreters for justice working party, set up by the Association of Translation Companies, with representives from regulators, institutes, professional associates and trade unions, which laid out the challenges facing public sector ITS.
The working party made a series recommendations for commissioning and buying organisations “to ensure the continued safe provision of multilingual services for the public sector”.
Baroness Morris described “concerning reports of people struggling to access interpreting and translation services in the courts”.
The working party report “included a conclusion that the provision of interpretation and language services was fragmented across the UK, which in turn caused complications with procurement and implementing and monitoring best practice. Other studies have also highlighted problems with recruitment and retention of translators due to poor remuneration”.
The committee has asked for written submissions by 30 September and will be holding a small number of oral evidence sessions as well.
Baroness Morris said: “Our aim is to effectively scrutinise the ITS policy and process, including the potential use of technology in providing these services, solutions to translator recruitment, quality assurance and impact of ITS on the courts and court users.
“Effective delivery of ITS in the courts is essential and we will be seeking recommendations to facilitate this.”
The working party report recorded how the number of candidates achieving Level 6 public service interpreting qualifications has fallen significantly, from around 350 in 2021 to a prediction of less than 100 in 2023.
Data from the National Register of Public Service Interpreters, meanwhile, showed that registrations have fallen by 33% in 12 years, from 2,400 registrants in 2011 to 1,600 registrants in 2023.
The committee is inviting written evidence on topics including:
- The extent to which the current ITS provided in court meets the needs of defendants, prosecutors, witnesses and legal professionals;
- The key issues in the provision of ITS and how they impact the running of the courts, public trust, interpreters and translators, including whether there is any data on miscarriages of justice in relation to ITS;
- The qualifications and experience of interpreters and translators and the recruitment process, including any barriers to recruitment;
- Quality assurance and complaints procedure in relation to ITS;
- The potential role of new technology (such as AI, machine translation and the digitisation of court proceedings) in the future of interpreting or translation services in the courts; and
- The current capability and accuracy of market-leading AI and machine translation tools in relation to ITS.
