Courts: Welsh Language

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much courts in Wales spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation between English and Welsh in each year since 2000. (254196)

The information requested for translation costs is contained in the following table.

Translation between English and Welsh

These costs relate to the translation of the written word and include the cost of an internal translator's post.

*English/Welsh translation costs incurred in courts in Wales*
£
	Translation cost	Salary of Translator
2002-03	37,051	24,000
2003-04	32,125	24,000
2004-05	46,002	25,000
2005-06	89,000	23,000
2006-07	87,051	11,000
2007-08	112,000	26,360

Records do not go back further than 2002. Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) came into existence in April 2005. The costs for the years preceding this date have been collated from pre-HMCS records and therefore exclude the translation cost incurred in Welsh magistrates courts committees.

Interpretation between English and Welsh

HMCS would only be able to identify spend on interpreters at a disproportionate cost as expenditure records are not kept at this level of detail.

Volume 487: debated on Tuesday 10 February 2009