Before January 2012, the Ministry generally booked interpretation services directly with individual interpreters, many of whom were listed on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI). This approach was administratively inefficient and the Ministry decided to set up a new centralised procurement system. The Ministry awarded the contract to a company, ALS, that was clearly incapable of delivering. Despite having been warned that ALS was too small to shoulder a contract worth more than £1 million, it went ahead and handed them an annual £42 million national contract. The Ministry did not understand its own basic requirements and ignored the views of interpreters, who had serious concerns about the contract. Capita took over ALS in late 2011. The Ministry needed access to 1,200 interpreters when the contract went live but the company had only 280 properly assessed interpreters willing to work for it. The Ministry, though, still decided to go live nationally in one go. Many of the 'interpreters' it thought were available had simply registered an interest on the company's website and had been subject to no official checks. As a result, the company was able to meet only 58% of bookings causing a sharp rise in delayed, postponed and abandoned trials; individuals being kept on remand solely because no interpreter was available; and the quality of interpreters has at times been appalling. However Capita has only been fined £2,200 to date for failing to meet the terms of the contract. Capita-ALS is now fulfilling more bookings, but it is still struggling

In the memorandum 'The role of major contractors in the delivery of public services' the NAO sets out some of the benefits that can be achieved through contracting but highlights three issues that deserve greater public scrutiny. First, it raises questions about the way public service markets operate. This includes the need for scrutiny over whether public service contracts are sufficiently competitive and whether the rise of a few major contractors is in the public interest. Secondly, it highlights the issue of whether contractors' profits reflect a fair return. Understanding contractors' profits is important to ensure that their interests are aligned properly with that of the taxpayer. But transparency over rewards that contractors make is at present limited. Thirdly, the report asks how we know that contractors are delivering services to the high standards expected. In particular, government needs to ensure that large companies with sprawling structures are not paying 'lip-service' to control and that they have the right culture and control environment across their group. This requires transparency over contractors' performance and the use of contractual entitlement to information, audit and inspection. This should be backed up by the threat of financial penalties and being barred from future competitions if things are found to be wrong. A related report 'Managing government suppliers' (HC 811, session 2013-14, ISBN 9780102987034) examines the way the Cabinet Office is working to improve government's management of strategic suppliers.

Evidence suggests that the MoJ did not have a sufficient understanding of the complexities of court interpreting work. Significant concern was revealed that quality standards could be diminished by the imposition of a tiered system to enable a wider pool of interpreters, and by the introduction of lower levels of pay. However, the Department pushed ahead with the contract and failed to properly anticipate or address the potential for problems with Applied Language Solutions' (ALS) capacity to deliver on its promises. ALS, and more recently Capita, has been unable to recruit qualified and experienced interpreters in sufficient numbers. Professional interpreters have largely boycotted the new arrangements and Capita-ALS clearly needed significantly more resources than it had at its disposal. It also only paid lip service to the regulatory duties accepted under the Framework Agreement, yet did not have the capacity to cope with complaints or to implement basic vetting procedures. The MoJ has had to monitor Capita-ALS very closely to secure the level of improvement necessary to make the Agreement workable, and continues to do so. The existing arrangements may not be financially sustainable as Capita is propping up the continuation of the Agreement, which mean that the Department's savings, originally projected to be £15million, are effectively being secured at the company's expense. Actions taken by MoJ also had the effect of hampering the inquiry when HMCTS issued an edict to its staff instructing them not to participate in the Committee's online consultation, established to invite direct observations from frontline staff of the performance of ALS

This work is the first book-length treatment on translation policy. Nearly everywhere in the world, populations are multilingual and mobile; consequently, language policies developed by the authorities must include choices about the use or non-use of translation. This book recognizes that these choices (or the absence thereof) become policies of their own in terms of translation. It builds upon the work of scholars in the fields of translation studies and language planning and policy in order to develop a new theoretical perspective on translation policy. In essence, the book proposes that translation policy can be understood as the management, practice, and beliefs surrounding the use of translation. The book deals with these issues under European and international law and then explores such management, practice, and beliefs in the UK, as a case study. Ultimately, the reader can find a fuller appreciation of both the importance and complexity of translation policy.

Public Service Interpreting is a hugely complex activity, encompassing human, ethical, commercial and political dimensions. It is unseen and unrecognized by most of the population but vital to those who depend on it for their security or wellbeing. The quality of PSI provision is seen by the authors as a clear indicator of how a society views and responds to the realities of a multi-ethnic and multilingual global community. Following recent significant changes in the power balance between them this book explores the increasing tensions among multiple stakeholders who together deliver such a fundamental service in a modern open society. Chapters focus on how all stakeholders need to appreciate the wider context of political and economic realities whilst collaborating more responsibly to deliver the conditions, training and support needed for expert linguists to be attracted to and retained in this vital profession.

Incorporating HC 1679-i-v, Session 2010-12. Report is contained in Volume 1 (ISBN 9780215047557)

Dated October 2012. Response to HC 97-I (ISBN 9780215047557)

Every year the British government spends £80 billion outsourcing public services. Today, private companies are responsible for fulfilling some of the most sensitive and important roles of the state – running prisons and providing healthcare, transport, legal aid, even child protection. These organizations have been handed enormous amounts of power and yet for the most part they operate with no transparency or accountability. From deportations to NHS cutbacks, Alan White exposes what goes wrong when the invisible hand of the market is introduced into public services. Informed by exclusive interviews with senior managers, campaigners and whistle-blowers, Shadow State is the first book to examine the controversial phenomenon of government outsourcing. Not only does White provide the full story behind scandals involving G4S, Serco and ATOS, but he also reveals previously unknown cases of system failure in areas such as social care, welfare and justice. The picture that develops is deeply troubling.

Against a backdrop of a dysfunctional criminal justice system, the authors bring an avalanche of legal and empirical material to question the legitimacy of the relationship between judges, lawyers, politicians and defendants in modern Britain. Examinin

Beginning with the history of criminology this updated and revised edition deals with topics as diverse as policing, substance abuse, juvenile crime, statistics, prisons, victims, and organised crime in Britain.