Councillor slams plans for cuts to translation services (From Enfield Independent)

Councillor slams plans for cuts to translation services

8:30am Thursday 18th October 2007

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CUTS to translation services will not improve integration and will affect the most vulnerable people, according to the council opposition group.

A Conservative newsletter for the Town ward claims that the council had decided to "radically reduce translation services", however, a spokesman from Enfield Council said the authority was awaiting guidance from the Government before implementing any changes.

Cllr Jayne Buckland, Labour councillor for Haselbury ward, said: "By scrapping translation services, some of the most vulnerable people in our borough, people who pay council tax, who are entitled to services, would be prevented from accessing key services."

She said proposed cuts to translation services - affecting translation in official documents and on signs - would affect a range of services, and criticised the comments in the In Touch with Town newsletter, saying they had caused alarm.

Responding to the belief that these measures would help integration, Cllr Buckland said personal experience had shown people coming to Britain were keen to integrate.

She said: "Obviously there's a place for that and for people who want to integrate into the community it's good if they learn English. The fact is, we still need that support; it's people's statutory right to access services."

She said there was provision to learn English in the borough while a reduction in translation services could impact on the voluntary sector and other services like the Citizens Advice Bureau.

The possible changes to translation services follow announcements from Local Government and Communities Secretary Hazel Blears on a ten-point action plan to promote cohesion.

A spokesman for the council said one of the key actions announced was a rebalancing of local translation provision with a greater emphasis on learning English.

He said: "The Government has said it will publish new guidance for local authorities in the coming weeks setting out where and when we should translate and giving a greater focus on promoting English."

He said the current approach responded to the genuine needs of vulnerable people, and while the council believed community cohesion was strong, it agreed that learning English is an important part of social integration and policies would be reviewed in the light of the new guidance.

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