Today’s report on ALS performance: the real picture
The percentages and numbers in today’s report on ALS performance statistics are simply warped.
The title of the report says "Statistics on the use of language services in courts and tribunals", but does not state that this is only relating to the use of interpreters via ALS under the terms of the Framework Agreement between ALS and the MoJ.
We just have to bear in mind that this information is what it says on the tin... and we also have to bear in mind what it doesn't say on the tin.
This information is ALS's own management information.
Mind you, there is absolutely no mention anywhere that the MoJ made any attempt to verify this information. This information only shows how ALS is performing on the requests passed to them!
It does not give a full picture of the "use of language services in courts and tribunals"... because we all know that there is now a firm "mixed economy in place" and as soon as two weeks into this contract, the courts and tribunals "reverted to the old system of booking interpreters directly"... We now know that in many cases courts and police don't even bother contacting ALS and they just call NRPSI registered interpreters directly.
We also know that a lot of other language service providers (agencies) were and are used to book interpreters where and when ALS fails.
How much of the "use of language services in courts and tribunals" is done by still engaging interpreters directly? How much is done by other agencies?
No one knows, because the MoJ claim they do not collect this data!
The very existence of this "mixed economy" is a damming evidence of the FWA.
One of the fundamental purposes and deliverables of this Framework Agreement was to consolidate the provision of language services under one "Framework roof" through a single provider. This clearly hasn't happened.
Only a fraction (no one knows what) of all the "use of language services in courts and tribunals" is done through ALS. And even there they manage to botch it up by achieving only 81% delivery when they are contractually bound to manage at least 98%.
And every 1 in 10 cases results in a complaint.