90% of interpreters boycott new ‘flawed’ court system
A survey, commissioned by the campaign group Interpreters for Justice, states that 90% of 1,206 interpreters who took part in the online survey have not and will not register for the new system administered by Applied Language Solutions (ALS).
Members of the Association of Police and Court Interpreters (APCI) and Society for Public Service Interpreting (SPSI) which are backing Interpreters for Justice, were amongst those who took part in the survey.
They state they will not sign up to the new system because it is flawed, citing a sub-standard assessment process introduced by ALS which has lowered the standards and is devaluing the interpreting business overall. Some interpreters claim that under the new system they will struggle to earn more than £5 per hour after deduction of expenses and they are simply not prepared to work for these fees. The refusal of the APCI and SPSI interpreters to take part in the new system has embarrassed the Government and left hundreds of defendants stranded at court, unable to advance their cases as the newly appointed Applied Language Solutions has failed to provide interpreters to cover those hearings.
The Interpreters for Justice campaign group has been set up with the sole objective of persuading the Ministry of Justice to scrap the Framework Agreement.
Geoffrey Buckingham, Chairman, Association of Police and Court Interpreters and spokesperson for Interpreters for Justice, said:
“ALS is saying they have 3,000 interpreters on their register, but when 9 in 10 of professional interpreters who replied to our survey say they are refusing to sign up, this does not stack up. The result is that people without training, qualifications or legal experience are being used to interpret in court which is creating chaos and higher costs. The Ministry of Justice might say these are teething problems, but we say they are terminal.”
The Ministry of Justice awarded their single Framework Agreement contract for interpreting services to ALS and it came into effect on 30th January 2012.
Interpreters for Justice also say that interpreters are also refusing requests from court officials who have been given permission by the Ministry of Justice to revert to the National Register of Public Service Interpreters.