Wednesday 22 Jan 2014 @ 10:10
National Audit Office Press Releases
Printable version E-mail this to a friend

The Ministry of Justice’s language services contract: Progress update

Full report: The Ministry of Justice’s language services contract: Progress update

In a report on the Ministry of Justice’s contract for language services, the National Audit Office has found that progress has been made in implementing many of the recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in December 2012. However, there are a number of areas where the Ministry and its contractor Capita still need to improve.

The Ministry is now performing audit checks of the security status of interpreters and some data generated by Capita. In addition, the number of interpreters available to work under the contract has increased significantly; spending outside the contract has decreased substantially for civil courts and tribunals; and the Ministry now routinely collects and monitors management information.

However, Capita is still not meeting the target to fulfil 98 per cent of bookings of interpreters, and performance fell temporarily by 8 per cent between December 2012 and April 2013 as a result of Capita’s reducing mileage payments to interpreters. Capita fulfilled over 94 per cent of bookings in November 2013, which is similar to performance a year earlier.  The work the Ministry has undertaken has not established whether, and if so to what extent, there is an ongoing problem with the recording of customer cancellations, although it has just introduced 100 per cent checks of these bookings. More than twice as many Tier 3 interpreters are being used under the contract since the NAO last reported.

The Ministry has also been slow to implement some PAC recommendations. A new assessment system for interpreters has not been implemented and an independent review of quality standards has not yet been performed.

Notes for Editors

  1. Tier 3 interpreters have formalised basic training, plus experience in the public sector, but not the formal qualifications and public sector interpreting experience required for either Tiers 1 or 2.
  2. Today’s progress report is to inform an upcoming Public Accounts Committee hearing which will consider how the management of the contract is progressing, and the steps taken in response to the PAC’s previous recommendations.
  3. In August 2011, the Ministry of Justice signed a framework agreement for language services with Applied Language Solutions, which was subsequently purchased by Capita. These services include translation and interpretation required by the justice sector.
  4. On 30 January 2012, the largest of those agreements for the Ministry, which is worth an estimated £90 million over five years, became operational and immediately faced difficulties. Following this, the National Audit Office received correspondence from a number of individuals, including MPs, whistle-blowers and the public, asking us to look into what had happened. The NAO produced a memorandum in September 2012.
  5. The PAC took evidence from the Ministry in October 2012, as well as from representatives of interpreters and Capita. The PAC published its own report in December 2012 and in February 2013, the Ministry responded to the PAC’s recommendations in a Treasury Minute.
  6. The NAO’s original report on the Ministry of Justice’s language services contract  can be found here: http://www.nao.org.uk/report/the-ministry-of-justices-language-services-contract/
  7. The National Audit Office scrutinises public spending for Parliament and is independent of government. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Amyas Morse, is an Officer of the House of Commons and leads the NAO, which employs some 860 staff. The C&AG certifies the accounts of all government departments and many other public sector bodies. He has statutory authority to examine and report to Parliament on whether departments and the bodies they fund have used their resources efficiently, effectively, and with economy. Our studies evaluate the value for money of public spending, nationally and locally. Our recommendations and reports on good practice help government improve public services, and our work led to audited savings of almost £1.2 billion in 2012.

Public Service Insights: Effectively Onboarding New Employees With An Intranet