Country report 2011
The Association of Sign Language Interpreters UK and Northern Ireland (ASLI)
Country Report for efsli AGM September 2011
Population
There is no specific survey that collects this information however the most accepted estimated figure for the number of people with a hearing loss in the UK is 9 million which is 15% of the 60 million people living in the UK, or 1:7.
Size of the Country (KM)
The UK is made up of a collection of islands which are located of the northwestern coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea. The total area of the UK is 244,820 square kilometres and this is shared by 4 main territories. The largest is England with a total area of 130,373 square kilometres, Wales occupies 20,767 square kilometres, Scotland 78, 775 square kilometres and Northern Ireland is 14,120 square kilometres.
Sign Language Interpreters
In the UK the main register, held by National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD) covers all the provinces, although in Scotland SASLI also holds a register of Scottish interpreters. There are 655 fully qualified interpreters, 108 trainee interpreters and 156 junior trainee interpreters. These figures are correct as of 31.8.11. The number of interpreters who work full or part time is not recorded. It has to be noted that there is an unknown number of interpreters working in the UK who are not registered with either NRCPD or are members of ASLI, thus this figure is not conclusive.
Interpreter Association
The Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI) is the main association in the UK and currently has 601 members.
Interpreter Training
There are 2 main ways to qualification as a British Sign Language/English Interpreter in the UK. Those are via the NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) route, or through a University programme at either BA, Post Graduate Diploma or MA level. The content of the programmes varies slightly depending on the institution and route type, but they mainly cover the same points of study; Interpreting Practicum, Consecutive/Simultaneous Interpreting, Interpreting Theory, Reflective Practices. The NVQ route is generally more practically based and the university route is more academically based, however both qualifications have been mapped to National Occupational Standards in line with other languages and NVQ Level 6 or postgraduate study allow the candidate to apply for registration with NRCPD upon completion as a fully qualified interpreter (MRSLI).
Events & goals:
Most important events for your association in the past year
This year has seen a major change in the working life of interpreters in the UK. There has been a new Government coming into power and as such they have made some radical cost cutting exercises that has directly affected the pots of money for which interpreters were paid from for public sector interpreting and for Ministry of Justice work (courts). In conjunction with this the Government has looked at how it can streamline, and save money, in its booking system for both spoken language interpreters and sign language interpreters. Thus they are preferring the ‘one stop shop’ system whereby they tender the contract out to a single supplier. We have seen an increase in the number of spoken language agencies being established who are now offering to provide sign language interpreters as well. In reality this is taking work from the local deaf clubs who have agencies, and from the specialist BSL agencies. The spoken language agencies are winning contracts which cannot be awarded to specialist agencies under these contracts for all languages and in some cases it is purported to be offered as a loss leader. ASLI therefore, has been working with the Government Departments who are offering this tendering process to ensure standards of interpreting are not affected adversely. ASLI members have been working on a local basis to look at how they can work with the service providers to ensure that the right standard of interpreting is provided for the right cost.
We are also seeing some potential legislation changes that will serve to aid deaf people’s access to the communication network via Video Relay Services (VRS). ASLI has created a statement on this with the purpose of making sure that interpreting quality and working conditions are kept at the highest standard.
Deaf Interpreters are now being recognised in this country with the provision of a new qualifications from Signature (the awarding body) for sign language to sign language interpreting and translation from English to BSL. There are plans to bring further qualifications online that could provide qualifications for those working within a language in language modification for those, for example, with minimal language skills or in immigration settings.
Goals of your association for the coming year
ASLI is undergoing a period of consultation with its members, and has done for the last year, on how to restructure our association to make sure it is the most effective it can be. Members will be voting on this at our AGM in October and if members vote in favour, structural changes will be implemented following a transition year.
We are also planning the celebrations for our 25th birthday in 2012. So keep in mind October 2012 for our celebrations and conference, all are welcome!