(2) how many requests there have been for summonses to be translated into Welsh in each month since January 2009; and if he will make a statement.
From 9 December 2008 to 13 September 2009, HMCS operated a national process for manual translation of documents into Welsh. This was the period between completion of Libra IT rollout across all magistrates' courts, and the release of the bilingual version of the system. During this time documents were manually translated upon request, within one working day.
Since 13 September, bilingual documents have been produced automatically from Libra where customers indicate a Welsh language preference.
From January 2009 to September 2009, HMCS spent a total of £2,605 on manual translation of summonses into Welsh. The following table gives a breakdown per month.
Month Cost (£) January 2009 410.00 February 2009 365.00 March 2009 620.00 April 2009 270.00 May 2009 170.00 June 2009 305.00 July 2009 240.00 August 2009 150.00 September 2009 75.00 Total 2,605.00
Number January 2009 19 February 2009 38 March 2009 42 April 2009 33 May 2009 36 June 2009 58 July 2009 44 August 2009 38 September 2009 26 Total 334