Lord Willis of Knaresborough responded, “I find that very disappointing, to be honest, because we are clearly in a situation where AI and other technologies — not just AI — will play an ever more significant role in maintaining quality services.”
“If you are not doing anything at the moment to introduce that, either by training people or within the operation, then that is a big issue that we should address to the Government,” he added.
“It is just language. The consequences are not as dire as they would be in the health service,” — Lord Porter of Spalding
Lord Porter of Spalding agreed: “There seems to be a reticence to go anywhere near this, on the basis that this particular service is so important. But the health service is starting to use it and there is no more important service from a user’s perspective than the health service.”
“Because ‘Oh, sorry, we got it wrong and cut your leg off’ is not fixable. ‘Oh, sorry, you’ve got a fine’ is fixable. Surely if the health service is starting to embrace this technology, your industry must embrace it. From a consumer’s perspective, yours is a pretty safe place to put it in. It is just language. The consequences are not as dire as they would be in the health service,” he concluded.
The Language Shop’s Patel responded, “My reticence is that I would like to see the success and efficiency gains that it will deliver so that we can bring it in and have a clear business case and a rationale about how we introduce it into The Language Shop and what benefits we will see as a direct result of that introduction.”
Commenting on the LSP’s initial investigations into using AI for quality assurance, Patel added, “I think we are starting at just the right time to try to understand how it will benefit The Language Shop, what investments we need to make, and how we understand that.”
Inquirers Urge Pause on New Contract
Two days before the public audience with The Language Shop, the Chair of the House of Lords Public Services Committee, Baroness Morris of Yardley urged the Ministry of Justice to pause the ongoing tender for language services to supply the courts with translation and interpreting service providers.
The Baroness cited concerns of the “poor remuneration” of interpreters, as well as “clear inconsistencies or absences in the data published regarding complaints about language services in the courts”, the qualifications of interpreters in courts, and how quality assurance is conducted.
“Logically, the number of complaints should be higher than the number of unfulfilled requests. […] However, in 2023, there were 6,272 unfulfilled requests, but only 415 complaints regarding interpreters being unavailable or not attending when requested. […] Furthermore, in 2023 there were 618 ineffective trials caused by interpreters not being available, but only 322 complaints submitted with the reason ‘no interpreter available.’”
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“Alongside these inconsistencies in the data, we have concerns that people are not utilizing the complaints process when interpreting services go wrong. Barristers and solicitors told the Committee that they were not made aware of how to submit complaints,” she concluded.
As part of the public inquiry, Language Shop’s Lingard stated that the quality of public service interpreting offered in UK courts has actually improved since the most recent contract was awarded in 2016. “The pass rates across all services were around 70% when we started and are now closer to 85%,” he said.
Recommendations to Government
The Chair asked Lingard and Patel what recommendations should be made to the Government to improve court interpreting. Lingard responded, “The only way that we will have a sustainable service going forward [is by] recognising interpreting as a profession, treating interpreters as professionals and rewarding them as professionals.”
As for Patel, “it needs to be a cohesive model that works together with [all stakeholders], so that bookings are allocated based on an outcome that is not purely about fulfilment in the short term. It is about fulfillment in the long term and using the right interpreters over a period of time. To protect the industry and to safeguard the work that the court system does.”
The inquiry continues.
