HL Deb 14 October 1993 vol 549 cc251-2

Lord Ashley of Stoke asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will take steps to ensure that deaf people who need qualified sign language interpreters in courts are provided with them.

The Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern)

My Lords, the parties to court proceedings normally attend court with any interpreter they may require. In cases of difficulty the courts will facilitate access to lists of interpreters held by the police or social services. Specifically for deaf people, there is a central booking service provided by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf communication support units. My department has recently distributed details to circuit offices.

Lord Ashley of Stoke

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord for that Answer. Nevertheless, there have been cases of totally deaf people having difficulty finding interpreters. Is the noble and learned Lord aware that there are only 92 qualified interpreters in Britain, most of whom have full-time jobs and that that means that if a deaf person is unable to find an interpreter, he or she will not get justice? What can the noble and learned Lord do about that, please?

The Lord Chancellor

My Lords, there is nothing that cannot be improved, and I hope that this service can be improved. A working party has been set up under the auspices of the Nuffield Foundation with the support of a number of government departments. It is seeking to enhance the present interpreters' service in the courts by ensuring that all interpreters who are used there have a minimum standard level of qualification in their chosen language or in sign language and some training in court procedures. The project is seeking also to define some independent service provider to be identified as responsible for keeping and updating the register of interpreters on a regular basis. Precisely who that independent service provider shall be is a difficult question, but the project is considering that. I believe that the result will be improvements in the service to which the noble Lord refers.

Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone

My Lords, while everyone will agree with the desirability of what the noble Lord, Lord Ashley, suggests, and will appreciate my noble and learned friend's difficulties in complying with it, is there not some means available to the Government of enhancing the probability that parties or witnesses who might need the services of an

interpreter should give prior notice of their requirement because the number of interpreters is likely to remain woefully small?

The Lord Chancellor

My Lords, my noble and learned friend is right that it is difficult to get an adequate number of interpreters. That is one of the factors that the project is examining. Generally speaking, those who make the arrangements are usually able to tell in advance what the requirements will be. Therefore, it is comparatively rare for a court itself to have to participate in making such arrangements although that does happen from time to time. I believe that it would be an improvement if a single independent service were identified as the resource for interpreters. That is the nature of the work in hand.

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