To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that in all Health Service contracts placed with hospitals there is a requirement that translators are provided where any patients might need them.

Guidance to the NHS has made it clear that each district health authority will be required to place contracts which secure access to a comprehensive range of high-quality services for all members of its resident population. In doing so, they will need to take account of any particular linguistic or cultural needs. A number of interpreters and linkworkers are already employed in the NHS and the Department is encouraging the appointment of more. It must be for district health authorities themselves to negotiate the exact specifications of contracts in the light of local needs and circumstances. It would be too prescriptive to insist that all contracts required the provision of translators or interpreters.