DEI and growth through language services

Raisa McNab, CEO of the Association of Translation Companies, explores how professional language provision underpins the UK's public services, supports diverse communities, and drives global growth

Translation and interpreting services form a vital part of the UK’s public sector infrastructure, and their role extends far beyond supporting individuals who do not speak English fluently. These services protect vulnerable people by ensuring they have equal access to essential public services, including healthcare, justice, education, and social services. Fundamentally, translation and interpreting also support the professionals working in public services, allowing them to perform their roles effectively and ethically. And beyond public services, language capabilities are the engine fuelling the UK’s diverse, multicultural communities, fostering growth on a global scale.

Changing demographics and local needs

As the UK’s demographics continue to evolve through policy decisions, migration patterns, and population development, so too must the language services provided to the public sector. While census data provides us with a broad overview of the languages spoken in the UK’s multicultural communities, translation and interpreting needs are often highly localised. Effective service provision must account for this by tailoring procurement and delivery strategies as flexible mechanisms to meet both the overarching trends as well as the often rapidly changing needs of local communities.     

Even at the macro level, census data is helpful to illustrate how the UK’s linguistic landscape has changed. While Polish remains the most commonly spoken first language in the UK (besides English and Welsh), the number of Romanian speakers has risen sharply – from 68,000 in 2011 to 472,000 in 2021. This significant growth, an increase of nearly 700 per cent, points to a corresponding surge in demand for language services in Romanian. On a micro, local level, language support needs can change and fluctuate dramatically due to migration or service needs, which can put local services under unexpected pressure.     

To shed further light on regional differences, NHS England’s Language Barrier Populations Tool is a useful new resource to make visible the localised needs for interpreting and translation within the NHS but also for other public bodies. For example, the proportion of the population facing an English language barrier is 2.9 per cent within University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, compared to 1.5 per cent at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. These figures demonstrate clearly how linguistic needs differ significantly between regions and underscore the importance of targeted, localised solutions.

The case for professional services

In the provision of equal access to services, the importance of using qualified professionals in translation and interpreting cannot be overstated. It is inappropriate and potentially harmful to rely on children to interpret for their parents in settings such as healthcare or social services. Similarly, expecting bilingual staff to perform interpreting duties in addition to their primary roles places undue burden on these frontline professionals and compromises service quality. Language technologies including machine or AI translation tools, while useful in certain contexts, are not suitable for professional, complex, and sensitive situations.     

Qualified interpreters and translators bring essential skills, including not only bilingual translation and interpreting proficiency and training, but also cultural competencies, ethics, and sector-specific knowledge. Reliable delivery of language services must provide for these trained professionals, supported by robust service infrastructure capable of delivering 24/7 coverage across both widely spoken and less common languages. Language service providers play a crucial role in coordinating this effort, ensuring quality control, and managing service delivery at scale.

Challenges experienced by public sector authorities

Public sector organisations face a number of challenges in providing comprehensive and effective language services. Demand continues to increase due to population growth and continued migration, placing pressure on existing frameworks and systems. At the same time, tight budget constraints are limiting public sector authorities’ ability to expand and develop services. The dynamic nature of community demographics means that language needs can change quickly, requiring service providers to remain agile and responsive.     

Another key challenge lies in service modalities, for example, in balancing the risks versus benefits between in-person, face-to-face interpreting and remote video or telephone interpreting services. Remote technologies can significantly improve access and reduce costs, but they will not be appropriate for sensitive or complex situations. Successful integration of remote interpreting can bring much-needed flexibility in terms of providing services at scale and balance the cost-efficiency ratio, but success will require willingness to adoption, careful planning, investment in technology, and clear guidelines on service settings and modalities. Solutions and strategic approaches To address these challenges, public sector authorities must adopt a strategic and forward-looking approach. First and foremost, continued investment in language services is necessary to support the procurement and provision of inclusive, high-quality public service delivery. Ensuring equitable access is a fundamental aspect of effective governance, social justice, and equal access to services.     

A robust risk-based approach conceived in collaboration with stakeholders from the language services industry can help determine where investment, development, and technological innovations are best deployed. Framework agreements and high-level contracts can be harnessed to harmonise fragmented terms and conditions across the sector, safeguarding access to qualified professionals, ensuring fair compensation for interpreters and translators, and creating a level playing field for service providers. These contractual mechanisms will help to foster long-term development of a healthy ecosystem for language service provision while allowing for effective, cost-efficient procurement.     

Collaboration with professional associations and stakeholders in the language services industry is also essential. These partnerships can facilitate the identification and dissemination of best practices, support workforce development, and ensure that services remain aligned with the evolving needs of the UK’s multicultural communities and the professional standards that are needed to support the delivery of language services for the future.

Outcomes and broader benefits for global growth

Support for languages both within the public sector, and within the wider society, offers clear and wide-ranging benefits for the UK’s diverse society, and its potential as a global leader in trade and international commerce.     

Translation and interpreting services within the public sector ensure that everyone, including those with limited English proficiency, can access the services they need in a language they understand. This is not only a matter of fairness but also one of effectiveness, as clear communication is essential for informed decision-making and appropriate service delivery. Language services also benefit frontline professionals by reducing the risk of miscommunication and enabling better outcomes. When public sector professionals are able to engage confidently with non-English-speaking clients, their work becomes more efficient, ethical, and rewarding.

Beyond immediate service delivery for the public sector, supporting multilingualism and language learning within the society, and across all levels of the educational system, promotes broader social cohesion and growth on a global scale. Public services that reflect and respect linguistic diversity help build trust, strengthen community ties, and support integration. In turn, a multicultural and multilingual society enhances the UK’s domestic resilience and international competitiveness. In this, the power of language capabilities is significant and quantifiable, as research on UK SMEs carried out by Aston Business School shows that companies investing in language capabilities have 30 per cent better export success and profits than those that do not.     

Recognising the strategic value of language services enables the UK public sector to fulfil its duty of care, uphold human rights, and support a more inclusive, responsive, and forward-looking society. Supporting the UK’s diverse and inclusive multilingual, multicultural society brings clear, tangible benefits for global growth, trade, and export.

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