§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what statutory obligations the prison department lies to provide interpretation services to serving prisoners in appropriate circumstances in gaols in England and Wales.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe prison service is not under any statutory obligations to provide interpretation services to prisoners, but makes every effort to meet such needs where they arise.
§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what statutory obligation the police authorities in England and Wales lie to provide interpretation services in appropriate cases for persons being interviewed in pursuance of criminal investigations.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe codes of practice issued under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 prescribe that a person who has difficulty in understanding English may not be interviewed by police officers except in the presence of an interpreter.
§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what statutory obligation the Crown or magistrates courts lie to provide interpretation services in appropriate circumstances in criminal proceedings in England and Wales.
§ Mr. JackSection 3 of the Welsh Courts Act 1942 allows the Lord Chancellor to make rules for the provision of interpreters of the Welsh and English languages for the purposes of proceedings before courts in Wales, while section 1(1) of the Welsh Language Act 1967 requires that provision for interpretation shall be made in legal proceedings in Wales. In other circumstances the provision of interpreters is not governed by statute. I understand, however, that an interpreter is provided as a matter of course when required and that a trial of a defendant who was unable to speak or understand English and who was not provided with a suitable interpreter would be a nullity.