Interpreting and Translation

An explanation of the difference between "interpreting" and "translation", together with an outline of the services the Council can provide.

Public authorities have a statutory duty to promote equality which includes ensuring the public has access to information and services.

What is the difference between "interpreting" and "translation"?

Interpreters listen to the speaker, analyse the message and accurately convey its original meaning. Translation is mainly the written form of expression in another language or format.

How can we help with interpreting and translation?

The Council does not employ in-house interpreting and translation services so we use a number of external service providers to support us in the provision of Council services. If English is not your first language and you need help with letters, documents, bills etc, which you receive from or are sending to the Council, we can help.

However, it is important that we have as much notice as possible so that we can provide a high quality, efficient service. We will work with service users, service providers and partners in the Solihull, to assess the extent of language use in the borough. The current languages identified locally are:

• Arabic
• Albanian
• Bengali
• Chinese
• Farsi
• Gujarati
• Japanese
• Kurdish
• Punjabi
• Pushto
• Urdu

We aim to provide a quality service, matching interpreter to client by gender and by religion where possible. The service is confidential.

The Council also uses The Big Word, a leading provider of over-the-phone interpretation in more than 100 languages, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Big Word will contact the client, staff and the interpreter over the telephone so that they are able to have a three-way conversation.

The Council is committed to meeting needs and is open to challenge so that we can continually learn and develop for the benefit of local people. Written information is essential to all of us - we use it to make choices and decisions that affect how we live our lives, and to play our part as a citizens.

Sign Language Interpreting Services

We must ensure deaf people have equal access to our information and services. We can provide the following interpreters:

• British Sign Language (BSL)
• Sign Supported English (SSE)
• Deaf/Blind
• Lipspeaker (Hard of Hearing)

We will interpret in a variety of settings, for example:

• Housing applications
• Council tax enquiries
• Welfare rights services
• Parent /teacher interviews
• Social Services Meetings
• Open Consultations meetings

The service provides confidential, professional and highly qualified interpretation between sign language and spoken English.

We aim to be as flexible and responsive as possible and will act as an aid to communication between Deaf and hearing people.