Government's court interpreting agency hit with wasted costs orders
The agency appointed by the Government as the sole provider of court interpreters has been issued with a number of wasted costs orders after issues with its service led to some cases being adjourned.
Dhaneshwar Sharma of Sharma Law Solicitors has issued several wasted costs orders against Applied Language Solutions (ALS), with one order already granted by the Magistrates Courts of London and one currently pending approval.
Sharma, who has experienced a number of instances where court hearings have been adjourned repeatedly due to ALS interpreters failing to turn up, said that any attempts by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and ALS to improve the situation have not gone far enough (16 February 2012).