TENDER SUBMISSION CENTRAL GOVERNMENT PROVISION OF INTERPRETING, TRANSLATION AND TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES

Transcription

1 TENDER SUBMISSION CENTRAL GOVERNMENT PROVISION OF INTERPRETING, TRANSLATION AND TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES REFERENCE CASE Page 1 of 82

2 1. FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND BUSINESS PROBITY 1.1(a) Bank Details U 1.1(b) Audited Accounts We have enclosed the last 2 years completed accounts for the period ended 31/12/06 (1/9/05-31/12/06) and for the year ended 31/12/07. Accounts for the year ended 31/12/08 are not yet finalised. 1.2 (a) Q. Is the organisation bankrupt or being wound up, having its affairs administered by the court, or have you entered into an arrangement with creditors, suspended business activities or any analogous situation arising from similar proceedings under national laws or regulations? A. 1.2 (b) Q. Is the organisation the subject of proceedings for a declaration of bankruptcy, for compulsory winding-up or administration by the court or for an arrangement with creditors or of any other similar proceedings under national laws or regulations? A. Page 2 of 82

3 1.2 (c) Q. Has any employee whom you would propose to use to deliver this service been convicted of an offence concerning his professional conduct by a judgement which has the force of res judicata? A. 1.2 (d) Q. Has any employee whom you would propose to use to deliver this service been guilty of misrepresentation in supplying or failing to supply the information that may be required in this Section? A. 1.2 (e) Q. Has any employee whom you would propose to use to deliver this service been guilty of grave professional misconduct, proven by any means which the contracting authorities can justify? A. 1.2 (f) Q. Has the organisation failed to fulfil obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions in accordance with the legal provisions of the United Kingdom or the country in which it is established? A. 1.2 (g) Q. Has the organisation failed to fulfil obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the United Kingdom or the country in which it is established? A. Page 3 of 82

4 1.3 Numbers of Staff and Annual Turnover We have 10 members of staff as shown in our organisation chart at 2.1. This does not include interpreters, translators and transcribers. The annual turnover is shown below: Page 4 of 82

5 2. PROPOSALS FOR SERVICE DELIVERY & IMPLEMENTATION 2.1 Overview of Organisation Global Connections is a private limited company with our head office in Glasgow city centre and bases in Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. The company s business activities are the provision of language services to the public sector, industry and commerce as well as charities and voluntary organisations. The different types of language services provided include: Translation Transcription Interpreting Multilingual Design and Typesetting Foreign Language Audio Production In 2002 Global Connections were the first Scottish private sector organisation to offer training leading to the DPSI Scots Law option and indeed remain the only Scottish organisation to win the coveted Nuffield Trophy for The Best Group Entry from an Individual DPSI training centre. Our commitment to quality is further enhanced by the fact that we recently achieved the distinction of becoming the first Scottish company to hold independent quality accreditation to both ISO9001: 2008 (overall Quality Management system) and BS EN15038:2006 (Translation Services quality standard). This contract will fit seamlessly into our management structure shown in the following organisational chart: Chart with names removed, replace this page with copy that has been physically altered. The structure of the company is such that the work under this contract will be performed by our two internal departments. The translation and transcription parts of the contract will be handled by our Translation Department, while the interpreting work will be handled by our Interpreting Department. This contract is similar in scope to other contracts we already operate and will complement our existing contracts in Scotland and elsewhere. We are currently the sole Scottish based supplier of Face to Face Interpreting services to the Department for Work and Pensions having held this contract since 2004 and as such have a great deal of experience in providing interpreters to locations throughout Scotland and Northern England, in addition to our existing experience of providing interpreters to a variety of Scottish Court Service locations throughout Scotland. We are also the current contractors to the Scottish Parliament for both translation and interpreting services, having held this contract for six years since Additionally we are providers of interpreting Services to the Tribunals Service through our contract with the Ministry of Justice, having provided interpreters to the Asylum Page 5 of 82

6 and Immigration Tribunal (and predecessor organisations) since 2000 to locations in Scotland and Northern England. We are also the contracted supplier of translation services to Sheffield City Council and also the Legal Services Commisson in London. We consider that our experience of successfully providing interpreting and translation services to a wide range of high profile clients for many years demonstrates our capacity to successfully deliver the high quality of services demanded under this contract. The account management team for this contract will be: (a) (b) (c) 2.2 Proposed Principal Point of Contact Because we are tendering to provide both translation/transcription services and interpreting services, and because these two areas of provision are handled by separate departments within the company, it is necessary for us to provide details of two principal points of contact for this contract as follows: Page 6 of 82

7 (1) (2) 2.3 (a) Executive Summary of Proposal i) Introduction We understand that in the first instance the main Collaborative Partners to use this contract will be the Scottish Courts Service followed by the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service. We are fully aware of the serious consequences of using unsuitable interpreters in courts and also the consequences of providing substandard translation and transcription of legal documents. We understand the urgent requirement for the main Collaborative Partners, especially the Scottish Courts Service, to have a contract in place quickly that provides the necessary quality protection on these issues. The widely reported problems that have arisen in several cases over recent years have increased the requirement to ensure that highly skilled interpreters with an appropriate background are provided to Courts on all occasions and as a company where the emphasis has always been on quality, we feel we are ideally placed to deliver the services required. ii) Interpreting Requirement We understand the requirement to provide interpreters to locations throughout Scotland as well as the budgetary pressures to ensure that interpreters are sourced from as near as possible to the location of the actual appointment. We have been providing interpreters to locations all over Scotland for many years and have bases in the major centres of population which are used to interview and assess new recruits and also to deliver induction and training sessions Page 7 of 82

8 We also understand the requirement to provide DPSI qualified interpreters to the courts and to increase over time the numbers with this benchmark qualification. As a DPSI training and examination centre we are working in conjunction with Heriot Watt University to design a course that will be launched in its new format this September. This will combine a distance learning approach with practical sessions which will include utilising Heriot Watt s state of the art Conference interpreting facilities. Heriot Watt is the only Higher Education establishment in Scotland to offer a postgraduate diploma in Conference interpreting. We also acknowledge that there are many languages in which there are currently no DPSI interpreters and we have explained in our proposal how we intend to focus our future delivery on specific languages. We have also outlined our approach to induction and training for all interpreters, irrespective of DPSI status, and have explained our experience based grading scheme that is used to match the most appropriate interpreter to each case. This scheme acknowledges that whilst previous court experience is an important factor in determining whether an interpreter is suitable for a given assignment the precise nature of past experience is also crucial iii) Translation We understand the requirement to provide a comprehensive translation and proofreading process to agreed turnaround times, for varying types of documentation including witness statements, summonses, complaints and copy indictments. We also appreciate that security of electronic documents is a critical concern and we have explained how we would intent to use the Government Protective Marking Scheme in relation to this requirement. We also understand the requirement to utilise UK based translators wherever possible and understand that they could in certain cases be required to attend court as expert witnesses. We appreciate that we would require to guarantee their attendance at court in such cases. iv) Transcription Requirement We understand that transcription services may be required in respect of Police interviews and other evidence and that it may be supplied to us in audio cassette format although it is likely that this will be increasingly replaced by digital formats as the contract progresses. We also appreciate that document security and turnaround time is a crucial aspect of this service. v) Innovative technical solutions Page 8 of 82

9 For all requirements we intend to utilise bespoke web -based solutions to provide maximum efficiency and value for money to the Collaborative Partners. 2.3 (b) Meeting the Requirements Statement i) Interpreting We already have the necessary infrastructure and resources to meet the requirements from the outset of the contract, as evidenced by our current role as supplier of interpreting services to our clients including DWP and the Tribunal Service on a Scotland-wide basis. We have a large network of suitably qualified and experienced interpreters covering all of the necessary geographical locations and the full range of languages required under this contract. As important in many ways as the numbers and quality of interpreters, we also have an experienced booking team in place to make sure that requests for interpreters are handled efficiently, sensitively and skilfully so that the key client requirements are always met. We have first rate quality management systems in place and they have capacity to accommodate additional challenges because of our ability to operate flexibly while also delivering consistently high-quality service. Throughout the life of the contract we would respond to changes in demographics to accommodate the changing requirements such as languages requested, changes in the law and legal proceedings etc We have always been at the forefront of driving up standards in the industry and will continue this approach as we seek to increase the numbers of interpreters gaining formal qualifications, primarily the DPSI in Scots Law. ii) Translation We also already have the necessary infrastructure and resources to meet the requirements from the outset of the contract in terms of translation services. This is evidenced by our long standing contracts with the Scottish Parliament, Legal Services Commission and Sheffield City Council among many others. We have a large and extensive network of translators, primarily in the UK, who can provide all the necessary languages under this contract and have the necessary qualifications and experience required to provide translation services to the high standards required. Furthermore, we have excellent project managers who have the high level of professional expertise needed to plan, organise and deliver complex or demanding translation projects to budget, to agreed timescales and to the level of quality expected in the courts and legal profession. iii) Transcription Again, we would reiterate that we already have the necessary infrastructure and resources to meet the requirements from the outset of the contract in terms of Page 9 of 82

10 transcription services. This is evidenced by our long standing contracts with the Legal Services Commission, DWP and transcription projects we have delivered to many solicitors and police forces in recent years. We have a large and extensive network of linguists with the necessary security clearances and based in the UK, who can provide transcription services for all the necessary languages under this contract and have the necessary qualifications and experience required to provide the resulting translations at the high level of quality demanded by our clients. We can receive and deliver transcriptions in a variety of formats and by different methods depending on turnaround and security classifications. Key to our ability to provide transcription services from the outset of the contract is the experience of our project managers in dealing with transcriptions of video and audio material involving languages other than English. Working in partnership with the RNIB we are also able to provide the required Braille transcription services to Collaborative Partners using fully qualified and fully experienced Braille transcribers. Page 10 of 82

11 2.4 Compliance Schedule COMPLIANCE TO SPECIFICATION AT SCHEDULE B Ye s Glossary of Terms Understood Y 1 Background Understood Y 2 Overview of Understood Y Requirements 3 Scope of Requirement Understood Y 4 Quality Understood Y 5 Qualifications and Understood Y Experience & Comply 6 Hours of Work Understood Y & Comply 7 Security Understood Y & Comply 8 Locations Understood Y & Comply 9 Management Information Understood Y Requirements & Comply 10 Complaints Understood Y & Comply 11 Contract Management Understood Y & Comply 12 Service Levels Understood Y & Comply 13 Invoicing/Order Understood Y Placement Procedures & Comply 14 Continuous Understood Y Improvements & Comply 15 Transitional Understood Y Arrangements & Comply 16 Transition After Expiry Understood Y & Comply 17 Travel and Subsistence Understood Y & Comply Annex 1 Languages Understood Y Annex 2 Location SCS/COPFS Understood Y Annex 3 Collaborative Partners Understood Y Annex 4 Code of conduct Understood Y Annex 5 Attendance/Monitoring Understood Y Form Annex 6 Purchase Order Process Understood Y Annex 7 Service Levels and Understood Y Service Credits Annex 8 e Procurement List Understood Y No Comments For the avoidance of doubt, we consider our proposal to meet all aspects of the Specification under this contract. Page 11 of 82

12 2.5 Assumptions The prices and timescales outlined in this tender proposal are based on the assumptions that (a) any source text provided to us for translation is clear, legible and final when permission to proceed with the project is given and (b) any audio or video material provided to us for transcription is clear, audible and final when permission to proceed with the project is given. We have also assumed that, in terms of document security, the Collaborative Partners will adopt the Government Protective Marking Scheme. It appears that is has already been adopted by COPFS but we would seek clarification on this point Perceived Risks We perceive the risks for interpreting, translation and transcription work under this contract to include the following. We have broken these down to include our assessment of their likelihood, impact and the mitigating actions necessary to overcome the risk. Likelihood and impact are classed as high, medium or low depending on how likely we view the risk and the seriousness of the impact. Risk Likelihood Impact Mitigating Action Inability to provide interpreters with required experience/skill in a given language Low High We would extend the radius of our search until a suitable interpreter is located and arranged. This may involve bringing an interpreter from elsewhere in the UK if no interpreter in the local area exists or is available (e.g. because of conflict of interest through involvement in an earlier Inability to provide interpreters in location required Carrying out of inaccurate or misleading interpretation to a client stage of the case). Low Medium There is in theory no circumstance that would prevent an interpreter reaching any location except adverse weather or other events beyond our control. In this event, not only the interpreter, but court personnel, legal personnel, witnesses and jurors would likely be similarly affected. Low High Through using high-quality interpreters the risk of this happening is negligible. Because interpreting occurs in the moment there is no way to mitigate this happening except the interpreter informing the court if they subsequently realise a mistake has Page 12 of 82

13 Failure to deliver translation/ transcription services to agreed timescales Delivery of inaccurate or incomplete material to a client Use of interpreters, translators or transcribers without the appropriate security clearances Breach of confidentiality Late attendance of an interpreter for an assignment Business disruption Low Medium /High been made. Interpreters are reminded of their duty to do this as part of our induction & training process. Our project managers will organise workload to ensure projects are delivered on time and our systems are built to facilitate progressing and delivering projects to fixed timescales. Low High Strong project management and quality control evidenced by independent certification to BS EN (Translation standard). Low High No interpreter, translator or transcriber is used until appropriate Disclosure checks have been carried out and in the case of security classified material, futher agreed vetting. Low High We have in place a legal and technological framework to prevent unauthorised dissemination of information. Low High Interpreters are reminded by SMS text message on the day of the assignment (and prior to the day of the assignment) reminding them of the assignment details. Low High We have a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan in place to overcome any disruption to our premises, equipment or personnel. 2.7 Implementation Plan Contract Award Date Monday 29 June 2009 Contract Start Date Monday 13 July 2009 In the 2 week period between contract award and contract start, our main priority will be to ensure we can commence service delivery on Monday 13 July 2009 and also to communicate the new arrangements to the Collaborative Partners. Service Delivery Given that the main client at contract start date will be the Scottish Courts Service we are exceptionally well placed to commence service delivery immediately. Based on Page 13 of 82

14 our experience in providing interpreters to both the Scottish Courts and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, our Interpreting Account Management team are in place and all current electronic management systems need no amendment to make them ready to handle this contract. We have a bespoke database system which allows us to efficiently record, track and monitor all interpreting assignments and translation assignments. We have an established network of experienced Court interpreters and currently work to all of the required Scottish Courts protocols. Our main office in Glasgow and bases in Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Edinburgh allow us to co-ordinate the geographical requirements of this contract both with interpreters and Collaborative Partner clients. In terms of the translation and transcription service we would wish to define with key contacts the precise details regarding methods of electronic transfer of documents. The particular emphasis would be on how security classification is defined and communicated to us by front line staff, as this is crucial in determining how the information is then handled in terms of access, storage, distribution and disposal. Communication In the weeks between contract award and contract start we would contact all of the main Collaborative Partners and ensure that key staff are aware of the new contract. The initial priority would be Scottish Courts staff. We would hold induction sessions which would cover contact details and organisation chart, booking and invoicing procedures, quality processes and escalations. Again our main office in Glasgow and bases throughout Scotland will allow us to reach all of the Collaborative Partner clients. We understand that promoting the new contract to the non-core Collaborative Partners will be required and are happy to host presentations in conjunction with the CG Cope team and other key contract users to outline the services provided under this contract. 2.8 Account Manager s Role of the company, will be the Account Manager and the strategic level contact within Global Connections. is the only private sector member of the forum established by the Scottish Executive in and as such has a detailed understanding of the issues and complexities involved in providing effective language services to all areas of the Scottish public sector. His responsibilities will include: Leading the internal account management teams detailed in 2.1 above with responsibility for managing all of the resources required for this contract ie human, practical and electronic. This will include adding to these resources, if necessary, as and when Collaborative Partners migrate to the contract to ensure that consistency in service levels are delivered to all Collaborative Partners. Page 14 of 82

15 . Ensure that all management information is provided on a timely basis and in the agreed format to both the CGCoPE contact and the individual Collaborative Partners. Ensure service levels are being achieved and in the unlikely event of problems arising will ensure that an effective solution is achieved. Liaise with and regularly meet the CGCoPE Strategic Contract Manager and also representatives from individual Collaborative Partner organisations to monitor that the account is running smoothly, reinforce that best practice is being developed, with particular regard to improving the numbers of interpreters with DPSI qualifications, and ensuring that value for money is being provided. Monitor the contract and take a pro-active and collaborative approach to continuously improving quality in delivery of all services. This could for example involve key personnel in SCS and COPFS being invited to participate in particular aspects of our future DPSI training courses where practical contributions from different perspectives are invaluable. has many years experience of contract management and currently provides a similar service for all our major contracted clients including the Scottish Parliament and the Page 15 of 82

16 2.9.1 Interpreting Services (a) Interpreting: Practical Experience We have ten years solid, day-to-day practical experience of delivering interpreting services to a broad range of clients throughout the public, private and voluntary sectors all over Scotland and beyond. For many years we have supplied interpreters to the Scottish Courts, particularly the Sheriff Courts at Glasgow, Paisley, Dumbarton and Hamilton, but also at Ayr, Kilmarnock, Edinburgh, Elgin, Fort William, Oban, Dunoon, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Campbeltown, Rothesay etc. We have never received any complaints from the Courts Service regarding our interpreters and have received more than one letter of commendation from sheriffs who were especially impressed by the standard of work our interpreters show. Likewise, we also have supplied interpreters frequently to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the District Courts and many of Scotland s police forces. Additionally, we supply interpreters daily to various solicitors and law centres in the Central Belt. We have an existing contract with the Tribunal Service that was originally awarded in 2002 after tender and has been renewed in 2008 for a further three years after a second tendering process. We therefore supply many tribunals in Scotland requiring interpreters including the and the We are also currently the sole contracted Scottish based supplier of Face to Face Interpreting services to the having held this contract since 2004 and as such have a great deal of experience in providing interpreters to locations throughout Scotland and Northern England. This does not include an equally comprehensive amount of experience in providing interpreting services on a daily basis to many other areas of the public sector including the health service and local authorities and many groups working with asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants (b) Interpreting: Flexibility with Consistency Because we already provide our services to the widest range of different types of clients, we know that each organisation, company or group has its own particular needs. This could be in terms of language or type of interpreting; some clients require mainly female interpreters, others are very specific about the dialect required or nationality of the interpreter. Others such as the key Collaborative Partners have very specific requirements in terms of court experience and qualifications ie DPSI Scots Law. Page 16 of 82

17 In essence flexibility to the needs of individual Collaborative Partners is about totally understanding these needs and capturing them for each and every interpreter booking. Without that core understanding we would be unlikely to deliver what each partner required. We have experienced booking staff who understand the roles of the SCS and COPFS in the Scottish Criminal Justice system and the potential for conflicts of interest in the provision of interpreters. Additionally our quality manager, James Miller is an Honours graduate in Scots Law and as such provides a level of insight into the workings of the Scottish Criminal Justice system that is invaluable. We have a totally consistent approach to recruiting and inducting interpreters which is based around grading each individual on the basis of experience in specific areas ie Scottish Court work. This grading system, which is outlined in more detail in Appendix E, is crucial in allowing us to match the skills and experience of the interpreter with the specific requirements of a given case. This matching process is what will allow us to be totally consistent in delivering what is in our view the most important service indicator under this contract ie to ensure that all interpreting is carried out professionally and accurately. Some practical examples of our flexibility could include for example tailoring the client s requirements for number of assignments required for any booking. For example, this can include booking the same interpreter for several appointments in a row to make sure there is continuity and consistency at a court hearing or series of interviews (c) Interpreting: Details of Scottish-based Interpreters As stated in paragraph 2.9.1(e) below, our Scottish-based interpreters can provide national coverage because they are based in the main population centres spread across Scotland. The numbers and locations of our Scottish-based interpreters are presented in the table below. All Scottish- based interpreters are listed under the nearest city to their location if they do not live within the city boundaries. Language Glasgow Edinburgh Aberdeen Dundee Inverness Afrikaans Akan Albanian Alcholi Amharic Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Bahdini Balochi Page 17 of 82

18 Language Glasgow Edinburgh Aberdeen Dundee Inverness Bantu Basque Belarusian Bengali Bete Bosnian Bulgarian Burmese Cantonese Chinese Creole Croatian Czech Danish Dari Dinka Dutch Egyptian (Arabic) Estonian Farsi (Afghan) Farsi (Persian) Finnish Flemish French Gan Ghanaian Georgian German Greek Gujarati Gurmukhi n/a script of Punjabi Hakka Hausa Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Page 18 of 82

19 Indonesian Italian Irish Gaelic Japanese Kannada Kazakh Kikongo Kikuyu Kinyarwanda Kisii Kongo Korean Krio Kurdish(Sorani) Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kyrgyz Laotian Latvian Laur Lingala Lithuanian Luganda Luo Lutora Macedonian Malay Malayalam Maltese Mandarin Mandinka Marathi Mauritian-creole Min Mirpuri Mongolian Nepali Norwegian Papiamento Pashto Polish Portuguese Page 19 of 82

20 Punjabi Romany Romanian Russian Scottish Gaelic Serb-Croat Seychelles-Creole Shona Sinhalese Slovak Slovenian Somali Spanish Swahili Swedish Sylheti(Bengali) Tagalog Tajik Tamil Telugu Thai Tibetan Tigrinya Twi Turkish Turkmen Ukrainian Urdu Uzbek Vietnamese Welsh Wolof Wu Xiang Yoruba Yiddish Zulu TOTALS Page 20 of 82

21 2.9.1 (d) Interpreting: Arrangements where no local provision is possible It is our intention that the majority of assignments will be supplied by interpreters based within a local radius of the location of any assignment. We can only foresee two situations where it is not possible to provide locally-based interpreters. The first situation would be where the assignment is held at a remote or mainly rural geographic location where there are low numbers of speakers of languages other than English available. In these circumstances, it may prove impossible to provide local interpreters regardless of the language required. If the location is one where there are few ethnic minorities living, we would then locate the nearest available interpreter geographically who also has the requisite qualifications and experience to take the assignment. This is actually a crucial point in terms of quality of service. It is not enough to provide the nearest interpreter but the nearest suitable interpreter not just on a language match, but taking into account the totality of the interpreter s suitability for the particular assignment. The second situation is where there are local interpreters available, but the language required is not commonly requested or one where there are speakers available locally. We have been asked to provide interpreting for unusual or rare languages many times by clients. Our recruitment procedures combined with our experience and know-how means that we will always be confident in finding a suitable interpreter somewhere in the UK for an assignment. Where either of these circumstances occurs, we will give notice to the Collaborative Partner as soon as possible that it will be necessary to send an interpreter from outside the local area. We will also advise on likely costs for travel in advance of the booking. The Collaborative Partner will, by this means, always be in control of spending on interpreting and free to decline the offer of an interpreter who does not reside locally to the appointment. If we were obliged to bring an interpreter from another part of the UK who is unfamiliar with the Scottish legal system and courts (e.g. where DPSI Scots law is not available and the nearest interpreter is in England), we would carry out a briefing/training session with the interpreter in advance to ensure they are aware of the particular protocols and terminology used in Scots law. In such cases a written suitability report would be provide to the Collaborative Partner prior to finalising the appointment (e) Interpreting: National Coverage Our interpreting service provides national (Scotland-wide) coverage including the Highlands and Islands region. Page 21 of 82

22 We have local networks of interpreters based in and around the major population centres across Scotland including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness (f) Interpreting: Qualifications and Experience of Interpreters The qualifications and experience of the interpreters on our database are both determined using our detailed recruitment criteria, testing and interview which comprises: Verification of qualifications Checking experience through references (to arrive at sector-specific gradings) English Language Skills test Marked interview score Further details of our recruitment procedures are available in Appendix E. The table below shows in the first column the total number of interpreters per language on our network which covers Scotland and elsewhere in the UK, primarily Northern England. They have a range of qualifications and experience which determines their suitability for particular types of interpreting assignments. The second column shows that we have 141 interpreters in total with the DPSI in Scots Law across a range of specific languages. The DPSI Scots Law version has only been examined in these particular languages since it was first offered by the Chartered Institute of Linguists in We have independently verified with them the total numbers of interpreters who have gained the qualification between 2003 and 2008 and the total across all languages is 113 (see Appendix F). They are not able to provide the precise numbers who gained the qualification in the years between 1995 and 2002 but they estimate that the number is approximately 50 which corresponds with the far less diverse Ethnic breakdown of the population in Scotland before the late 1990 s, when the dispersal of asylum seekers and refugees to Glasgow first occurred on a large scale. The last column in the table indicates the numbers of interpreters with experience of court work. Language Total Interpreters DPSI Scots law Afrikaans 12 not applicable 0 Akan 3 not applicable 0 Albanian Alcholi 2 not applicable 0 Amharic Arabic Armenian 7 not applicable 0 Court Experience Page 22 of 82

23 Azerbaijani 7 not applicable 0 Bahdini 7 not applicable 0 Balochi 5 not applicable 0 Bantu 5 not applicable 0 Basque 12 not applicable 0 Belarusian 12 not applicable 0 Bengali Bete 5 not applicable 0 Bosnian 12 not applicable 0 Bulgarian Burmese 4 not applicable 0 Cantonese Creole 2 not applicable 0 Croatian Czech Danish 16 not applicable 3 Dari 14 not applicable 6 Dinka 1 not applicable 0 Dutch Egyptian (Arabic) 32 not applicable 23 Estonian 8 not applicable 3 Farsi (Afghan) 18 not applicable 0 Farsi (Persian) Finnish 15 not applicable 3 Flemish 6 not applicable 0 French Gan 6 not applicable 0 Ghanaian 2 not applicable 0 Georgian 6 not applicable 1 German Greek 13 not applicable 3 Gujarati 12 not applicable 2 Gurmukhi (n/a script of Punjabi) not applicable 0 Hakka 6 not applicable 0 Hausa 6 not applicable 0 Hebrew 6 not applicable 0 Hindi Hungarian Icelandic 6 not applicable 1 Igbo 5 not applicable 0 Page 23 of 82

24 Indonesian 11 not applicable 4 Italian Irish Gaelic 7 not applicable 2 Japanese 30 not applicable 5 Kannada 11 not applicable 0 Kazakh 1 not applicable 0 Kikongo 4 not applicable 0 Kikuyu 5 not applicable 0 Kinyarwanda 8 not applicable 1 Kisii 3 not applicable 0 Kongo 4 not applicable 0 Korean 17 not applicable 3 Krio 3 not applicable 0 Kurdish(Sorani) Kurdish (Kurmanji) 11 not applicable 6 Kyrgyz 2 not applicable 0 Laotian 1 not applicable 0 Latvian Laur 1 not applicable 0 Lingala 9 not applicable 3 Lithuanian Luganda 1 not applicable 0 Luo 1 not applicable 0 Lutora 1 not applicable 0 Macedonian 7 not applicable 2 Malay 12 not applicable 3 Malayalam 4 not applicable 1 Maltese 3 not applicable 0 Mandarin Mandinka 2 not applicable 0 Marathi 4 not applicable 0 Mauritian-creole 2 not applicable 0 Min 2 not applicable 0 Mirpuri 14 not applicable 0 Mongolian 1 not applicable 0 Nepali 2 not applicable 0 Norwegian 15 not applicable 2 Papiamento 1 not applicable 0 Pashto 16 not applicable 3 Polish Portuguese Page 24 of 82

25 Punjabi Romany 1 not applicable 0 Romanian Russian Scottish Gaelic 15 not applicable 0 Serb-Croat 10 not applicable 0 Seychelles-Creole 1 not applicable 0 Shona 4 not applicable 0 Sinhalese 10 not applicable 1 Slovak 26 not applicable 4 Slovenian 9 not applicable 2 Somali Spanish Swahili 9 not applicable 2 Swedish 14 not applicable 3 Sylheti(Bengali) 16 not applicable 3 Tagalog 6 not applicable 0 Tajik 1 not applicable 0 Tamil Telugu 3 not applicable 0 Thai 9 not applicable 1 Tibetan 2 not applicable 0 Tigrinya 10 not applicable 2 Twi 2 not applicable 0 Turkish Turkmen 1 not applicable 0 Ukrainian 9 not applicable 1 Urdu Uzbek 1 not applicable 0 Vietnamese 8 not applicable 2 Welsh 10 not applicable 0 Wolof 2 not applicable 0 Wu 5 not applicable 0 Xiang 3 not applicable 0 Yoruba 2 not applicable 0 Yiddish 4 not applicable 0 Zulu 1 not applicable 0 TOTALS Page 25 of 82

26 2.9.1 (g) Interpreting: Raising the DPSI Levels As can be seen from the table in 2.9.1(f) above there only 29 languages in which the DPSI in Scots Law is actually held out of 125 languages in total. We have a total of 141 linguists with the qualification of which 52 are concentrated across just 3 languages (Arabic, French & Urdu) We have therefore benchmarked our future plans regarding raising DPSI against this information and have also utilised information held in our own databases regarding languages requested since the start of 2007 by the various Courts that have used our services. It is acknowledged that historical usage need not necessarily mean that the same languages will be required in the future although it is a useful indicator. Our data suggests that the focus should be on attracting future DPSI candidates across the following range of languages; Albanian Bengali Cantonese Czech Estonian Farsi Greek Hungarian Italian Kurdish Latvian Lingala Lithuanian Mandarin Polish Portuguese Romanian Slovak Somali Swahilli Tamil Thai Tigrinyan Turkish As a DPSI exam and training centre we run DPSI preparatory courses and are currently working closely with to improve the quality of our offering. are the only in Scotland to offer a and have excellent facilities including state-of-the-art laboratories and a bank of digital resources for. We feel that it is important for this contract that our course has maximum credibility and we are therefore utilising the expertise of to assist in designing our latest course. The precise course outline is Page 26 of 82

27 still being developed but will be finalised by mid June and is likely to be offered on a distance learning basis but with several practical sessions throughout the year. The course will run from September 2009 to May 2010 and will prepare students for the June 2010 DPSI examinations (these only take place once a year in June) The courses which we have run to date have focused on ensuring that students are well versed in the Scottish Legal system as well as court procedure and protocol and these crucial elements will be retained but will now have the additional practical element described above. There are several points that should be noted in connection with the practicalities of raising DPSI levels. Firstly our interpreters have to make a big investment of time and money to undertake the DPSI. The cost of the training cost plus the examination entry is almost which is a considerable investment for an individual especially if they do not predict their interpreting services being required regularly enough to justify this outlay. Additionally the Examination is normally only run by the Chartered Institute of Linguists where they receive a minimum of 5 candidates per language although they may run it for lesser numbers on request for an additional fee. So as things stand there could be a considerable disincentive for linguists in particular languages to undertake the courses which we are offering leading to DPSI. This issue has been described in the CILT (National Centre for Languages) Qualification strategy for Languages, Intercultural skills and Interpreting and Translation which was published in January ( The lack of statutory regulation of the profession impacts on the recognition of the professional nature of the services provided, which in turn has a negative impact on the rates and fees employers are willing to pay. This encourages the use of unqualified, inexperienced workers who may not be able to perform the formal requirements of the role while qualified, experienced interpreters and translators are left without work. The volatility of the market and the variable income available to freelancers often means the market self-selects those who are willing to persist and work in this way. Training provision should contribute to increased employability and help to minimise job insecurity, as lack of regular income deters some highly qualified candidates from entering the profession. We can and will do certain things to encourage appropriate candidates to undertake our course and the subsequent exam. On a more strategic basis we know that CILT are in discussion with awarding bodies in Scotland (ie SQA) in connection with the language qualification strategy outlined above. We will therefore be lobbying as effectively as we can in an attempt to have our course accredited and hopefully thereby attract further funding for interpreters wishing to follow our course. We would hope that we could work closely with the Collaborative Partners on this issue. Page 27 of 82

28 Finally for all languages but particularly those in which the DPSI is still not yet available we have several key components to our induction process for new interpreters which are used to give the necessary grounding to the Scottish Legal system. These include our Interpreter s Guide to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals (see Appendix G) as well as the Code of Practice for Working with Interpreters in the Scottish Criminal Justice System which was issued in June 2008 by the WGIT group. Other tools that will be used in future both in the delivery of our DPSI courses and also during induction and on going training sessions will include the interpreting Training DVD recently produced by COPFS (h) Interpreting: Continuous Professional Development We regard our interpreters as linguistic professionals and so we expect them to take continuous professional development (CPD) very seriously. Each year all interpreters are required to undertake at least some CPD which can include: Seminars Workshops Study time in libraries Visits to countries where their languages are spoken (which may be combined with holiday time) to keep their spoken skills fresh Reading professional magazines Undertaking further training Gaining or renewing existing qualifications Gaining or renewing membership of professional bodies such as the CIOL and ITI We hold an annual CPD review with each interpreter which includes: Noting the experience gained (this is used to amend sector-based gradings) Recording the types of work/subject matter encountered in their areas of experience (for courts this will include the specific nature of cases they have interpreted for e.g. financial, children at risk, etc.) Noting qualifications gained Monitoring and recording actual CPD undertaken (i) Interpreting: Referees 1. Referee Organisation Contact Name Title Address Telephone No. Service Provided Period of Contract Approximate Value Page 28 of 82

29 2. Referee Organisation Contact Name Title Address Telephone No. Service Provided Period of Contract Approximate Value (j) Interpreting: Selection and Allocation of Interpreters Interpreters are selected and allocated to an assignment from our network of approved interpreters. The selection and allocation are carried out by our interpreter Co-ordinators under the supervision of our experienced senior Co-ordinator, Details of all interpreters are stored electronically in our Interpreter Booking Database. This includes full contact details and language information regarding each interpreter. We also operate a sector-based interpreter grading scheme and this also forms part of the database entry and is used to select a suitable interpreter for each particular assignment. The sector-based system works in tandem with our recruitment procedure and our continuous professional development requirements. The sector-based grading scheme works by each interpreter receiving a grading score for specific types of work or sectors. Interpreters for a particular job are then selected based on the highest scoring available interpreter being selected and allocated to the appointment. The sector grading score is arrived at by adding together the interpreter s core grading and a sector-specific top-up grading. The core grading for the interpreter is worked out on the basis of their score across three criteria: Qualifications (inc. DPSI) English Language Skills Interview Score Page 29 of 82

30 We then examine the interpreter s specific qualifications and experience in a number of key interpreting sectors. At present, the sectors examined are: Health & Social Work Courts & Tribunals Legal (Solicitors, Police & Prison) Welfare (Housing & Social Security) Education & Training Commericial & Tourism Based on the interpreter s experience we then produce a grading for the interpreter in particular subject areas, so that the best and most experienced interpreters in any field are graded highest and called first when any assignments in that field are available. In effect interpreters are given more of the types of assignment most suited to their background and experience, and the client gets the best interpreter available. Further information is available on our grading scheme in Appendix E. This subject area grading is not fixed. Once an interpreter gains more experience in a particular area, his or her grading in that area is reviewed. This approach will ensure that we always select suitably qualified and experienced individuals for assignments with any Collaborative Partners. Where there are competing requests from Collaborative Partners and insufficient interpreters to meet both needs, our staff has guidance to check first if there are any conflicts of interest for the available interpreters as regards working with one of the requestors. An example of this would be an interpreter requested by court and Crown Office for different cases, but where the interpreter has previously interpreted for the Crown Office at a previous stage of the court s case. In these circumstances we would send the interpreter to whichever requestor he or she does not have a conflict with (i.e. to the Crown Office in this example). All else being equal, we would normally send the local interpreter to the first booking made and seek additional interpreters as outlined in paragraph 2.9.1(d) above if no further suitable local interpreters were available Translation and Transcription (a) Translation and Transcription: Practical Experience We have a wealth of experience dealing with standard and technical or legal translations over more than ten years on a day-to-day basis. Our translation project managers have a combined experience of over 20 years in the industry and our network of translators consists of professional translators with a minimum of at least three years professional experience. Most have over 10 years experience and many have over 20 years experience in the translation industry. Page 30 of 82

31 We do not use translators until they are seasoned professionals who are able to deliver high-quality work on a consistent basis. For many years we have supplied legal translations to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, particularly Victim Information and Advice departments across Scotland, and also to over a hundred solicitors in both Scotland and England. We have never received any complaints from VIA regarding our work for them and indeed in a recent Customer Satisfaction survey, we scored the highest points for customer service with the busy VIA office in Linlithgow, who commented in answer to a question about how we could improve: You can t improve on perfection. Although we do believe there is always room for improvement in any organisation, we think this comment does demonstrate the high regard COPFS staff we currently work with hold us in. Our workload from VIA has increased gradually within the past couple of years to cover a wide spread of offices throughout Scotland. This has occurred solely through the high quality of our service being recommended within the service. Another recent comment received from a staff member at the VIA Lothian & Borders office in Edinburgh highlights this That's brilliant for your quick response. its so much quicker than our last company who dealt with our translations, usually we would have to wait up to or more than a week. As well as work for COPFS, we have also translated hundreds of documents for solicitors in connection with evidence for both civil and criminal cases and for submission to tribunals. Transcription services are mostly required for legal proceedings such as court room evidence, police interviews, coroner s inquests and video recordings of social events that form evidence in civil proceedings. We have carried out a significant number of transcriptions from video and audio tapes for these clients and fully appreciate the sensitive and confidential nature of this material and have in place tight procedures in this regard. Transcription services have been recently requested in a number of languages including Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Chinese, Spanish, French and Gaelic. It would be true to say, therefore, that we have a vast amount of experience and a foundational understanding of the delivery of translation and transcription services under contract and on an ad hoc basis to courts, tribunals, procurator fiscals, solicitors, and police in the legal/criminal justice sectors alone (b) Translation and Transcription: Flexibility with Consistency Our experience in providing translation and transcription services to clients working in the Scottish criminal justice system means that we are very familiar already very familiar with translating legal material Consistency of services is achieved in two ways. Page 31 of 82