HC Deb 16 July 1980 vol 988 c576W
Mr. Thomas Cox

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the interpreters employed at London airport and the languages they speak; and if interpreters are always on duty while the airport is open.

Mr. Raison

In addition to members of the immigration service, most of whom are proficient in at least one foreign language, 10 interpreters in the following languages are currently employed;Bengali, Gujerati, Gurmukhi, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Farsi, Greek and Turkish.

Their hours of duty are arranged so that they are available when they are most likely to be required. When they are off duty, other interpreters are used, as necessary, on an ad hoc basis.