Cost and provision of Telephone Interpreters
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.034425
I note you seek access to the following information:
1. What has your spend been on telephone interpreting over the last 12 months
2. As the initial contract term is due to end in the next 12 months, please can you advise if you plan to test the market by running a tender exercise in 2024?
3. What % of calls are connected to an interpreter (NOT an operator) within 15 seconds?
4. What % of calls are connected to an interpreter (NOT an operator) within 40 seconds?
5. What % of calls has an interpreter not been able to be provided for?
6. What languages have been unable to be provided?
7. What is the average connection time of calls?
8. What % of calls have resulted in a complaint?
9. What % of calls have been delivered by interpreters outside of the UK?
10. How much has the supplier paid in service credits in the past 12 months?
11. What rate are you currently paying per minute for telephone interpreting?
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.
Please find below information pursuant to your request above.
Q1 - What has your spend been on telephone interpreting over the last 12 months?
The spend in terms of purchase orders that were receipted in 2023 was £780,828.58.
Q2 - As the initial contract term is due to end in the next 12 months, please can you advise if you plan to test the market by running a tender exercise in 2024?
The current term of the MPS telephone interpreting contract runs to September 2024. However, within this contract, we have a further 12 month extension available. This would see the contract run up to September 2025.
The MPS expects to run a re-tender exercise to coincide with the final expiry date.
Q3 - What % of calls are connected to an interpreter (NOT an operator) within 15 seconds?
Q4 - What % of calls are connected to an interpreter (NOT an operator) within 40 seconds?
Q5 - What % of calls has an interpreter not been able to be provided for?
Information not held.
Q6 - What languages have been unable to be provided?
There are c7000 languages that may come through to the MPS and there is no way this information can be filtered and extracted.
Q7 - What is the average connection time of calls?
Information not held.
Q8 - What % of calls have resulted in a complaint?
Information not held.
Q9 - What % of calls have been delivered by interpreters outside of the UK?
Information not held.