I write to request the below information under the Freedom of Information Act for language services for Wokingham Borough Council.

1. Do you use any of the below frameworks to procure language services (face to face interpreting spoken and non-spoken, telephone and video interpreting and translation) if so which ones?
Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO)
London Procurement Partnership (LPP)
NHS SBS
Northeast Purchasing Organisation (NEPO)
NOECPC
Health Trust Europe (HTE)
Crown Commercial Services (CCS)

We do not use a framework but are currently preparing for procurement and considering all options, including the use of any of the above framework agreements.

2. If you are not on any of the above frameworks, please confirm how you are accessing services.
Currently requirements are dealt with on an ad-hoc basis with different departments procuring the services when required. We are currently considering changing the overall approach and reviewing options.

3. What is the expiry date/s of your current language services contracts including telephone interpreting, face to face interpreting spoken and non-spoken and translation or do you have one collaborative contract?
Wokingham Borough Council do not currently have contracts in place and requirements are dealt with on an ad hoc basis.

4. If you do have a collaborative contract, when is this due to expire?
Not applicable.

5. If you have separate contracts, are you considering issuing a tender for a collaborative contract and if so when do you anticipate doing so?
We are currently reviewing all options and preparing to procure a translation services contract. The exact timetable has not been agreed yet.

6. Who is your current provider/s for each of these services?
Current suppliers used for these services are: Prestige, Language Line and 24-7 Language.

7. What is the current fulfilment rate being provided?
We are unable to report on this because the services have been used on an ad hoc basis from different suppliers by a range of departments across the council.

8. What was the spend by year for the last 2 financial years (2019 and 2020) in
total and broken down by service.
-Telephone Interpreting £
-Face to Face Interpreting £
-British Sign Language £
-Translation £
We are unable to report on this by service because the services have been used on an ad hoc basis but the spend for 2019, 2020 and the total are shown below:
2019: £17,786.82
2020: £30,636.54
Total: £48,423.36

9. Do you currently pay for interpreter travel expenses and if so, what is the rate you offer?
Yes, travel expenses are paid for, but the rate can differ depending on supplier and service used.

10. With regards to invoicing do you prefer on consolidated invoice with all backing data allowing you to reconcile the invoice
We are not in a position to answer this question as it would depend on the structure of the contract and the setup of the service provision. Should we procure a new contract, the payment terms, including invoicing process, will be included in the terms and conditions.

11. Please list the languages and their volumes requested which interpreters support the Council with over the last year in order of highest to lowest in terms of use/booking
Languages currently being requested are listed below, this will be a changing list due to the nature of the work undertaken and the increase in Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC)
• Hungarian
• Romanian
• Portuguese
• Portuguese (Brazilian)
• Bengali
• Russian
• Mandarin
• Polish
• Pashto
• Arabic
• Sudanese Arabic
• Urdu
• Tigrinya
• Dari
• Farsi
• Zaghawa
• Creole
• Amharic
• Kurdish Bahdini
• Kurdish Sorani
• Bulgarian
• Lithuanian

We are unable to report on the volumes used because the services have been used on an ad hoc basis from different suppliers by a range of departments across the council.

12. Which have been the most requested services overall when requesting translation and interpreting services for your primary care contractors for 2019 and 2020? – Telephone, video, or face to face interpreting.
Face to face interpreting / video calls.

13. Can you please provide the volumes for the different types of requests, telephone, video, or face to face interpreting for the same period 2019 and 2020?
We are unable to report on the volumes used because the services have been used on an ad hoc basis from different suppliers by a range of departments across the council.

14. Please provide how many requests were made during normal working hours and out of hours for 2019 and 2020 for the above.
We are unable to report on the volumes used because the services have been used on an ad hoc basis from different suppliers by a range of departments across the council, but most requests are in working hours, rarely would requirements be outside of working hours.

15. Are there any areas within the service currently being received where you are looking for improvements?
The service is currently provided on an ad-hoc basis and we would be developing our own standards for service delivery.

16. How to Council users currently place a booking for interpreting?
Each department books differently as there is no central contract in place and the exact process depends on the service provider.

17. Who is the Contract Manager and Senior Responsible Owner regarding language services or the person within the Trust who is responsible for the commissioning of spoken and non spoken language services?
Currently this is managed within each department, but this approach is under a review and it is likely to be changed.

18. Are there any current issues faced by the Council which if resolved, would improve the service given by the current provider for Language services, translation, and Interpreting.
The Council would benefit from having a central contract in place.