Protesters in Manchester speak out against Ministry of Justice
Posted Monday, February 20, 2012 - 19:20
Protesters gathered outside Manchester Crown Court today to voice their anger at the Ministry of Justice for their failed decision to use translators from one agency.
Professional translators from all over the country were out in force to make clear they will be boycotting the courts after the £300m deal fell through.
The Applied Language Solutions (ALS) were recently chosen to be the sole supplier of translators for court hearings but have struggled to cope with the new contract.
A decision has now been made by the Ministry of Justice to allow courts to provide their own translators after the ALS’s services were found to be less than satisfactory. More to follow...
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I have had a lot of dealings
I have had a lot of dealings with "fast growth" applied and their cowboy boss Gavin.
Here are a few truths which point to how the company is managed and which the company wont want airing:
First, applied absolutely did not envisage that the moj would ever go back on the agreement in this way, especially in public.
Gavin sells the services of his company whether his people can actually deliver what he has promised or not.
They often overstate what their capacity is and how experienced the linguists will be. The case of the moj is no different
Their staff have been working all hours just to fulfill the below par level of service delivered that has caused this u turn. The company is now at full stretch and is still struggling to keep up.
Stories of unveted people for the moj are not true as they do vet their linguists, just not all of them and not always properly. When desperate they understandably turn a blind eye on quality control.
Unqualified interpreters have been used by applied in the courts, for police and medical purposes.
Greater manchester police even ripped up their contract with applied last year after the companys services affected police investigations. Quality was the main comlpaint, or so said the PIA.
Going into the contract without the support of the PIA was something applied was happy to do and defiantly told linguists that "these are the rates. take the work or we will find someone else who will", such was their confidence in the moj brief to reduce cost. It's also why they never thought the moj would go back on the agreement as long as their cost was reduced.
They refused to entertain from the outset that this could impact the quality of the linguists who would make themselves available for the money on offer.
Gavin always oversold his company. He has previous for doing it. Getting denied investment on tv for overvaluing the company was just the start.
Overselling to investors was one of the next steps after a number of private translation contracts went to the wall.
The company recently sold for £7m "but up to 65mil" depending on performance.
This just shows you how exaggerated Gavins claims are. Capita saw through this and insisted on the "up to" element of that agreement while they pacified Gavins ambitious boasting.
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Please note that the name of
Please note that the name of the agency is Applied Language Solutions (not Services).
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