§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what translation services the Lord Chancellor ensures are available to courts in(a) England and (b) Staffordshire. [13499]
§ Mr. WillsThe Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) books and pays for interpreters where necessary for people attending IAA hearings. Within the criminal justice system, a national agreement for obtaining foreign language interpreters exists and applies equally to the Crown court, Court of Appeal and the magistrates courts. The agreement requires the courts to arrange and pay for an interpreter for the defendant.
In the Supreme Court and county court, foreign language interpreters are provided free of charge for civil committal hearings and for hearings in cases involving children or domestic violence. Interpreters will be provided for other types of hearings if it can be shown that a failure to do so would interfere with the individual's rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The county courts also use a national telephone interpreting service. Sign language interpreters and other forms of communication support are provided free of charge to any party that requires it. A number of different agencies, national and local, are used to arrange this support.
All these arrangements apply equally to England and Wales. There is no regional breakdown of the service provided.
In all courts it is the responsibility of the parties involved in the case to arrange for the translation of documents.