GMB Interpreters

13/07/2026

Remote Participation Review
https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/remote-participation-review/
The final guidance on the Live Links in the criminal courts is applied further down in full
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/LCJ-Guidance-on-Live-Links-in-Criminal-Courts.pdf

For the court interpreting is to be followed is then the stipulation of point 11) d) of the Live Links guidance on court interpreting:
Where a defendant requires an interpreter, in-person attendance will ordinarily be preferable,
unless it is not possible to secure an in-person interpreter within the time required,
or (for hearings other than a trial) the hearing can proceed more expeditiously by the defendant and the interpreter both attending by link.

13/07/2026

A lens on justice: The move to remote justice 2020 - 2024

This report evaluates remote hearings in England and Wales from the perspective of legal professionals. It sets out what has been working, what’s not and where improvements or changes are needed.

02/07/2026

TBW Note (from Email) : If there is a complexity change for a job, the timesheet must be signed twice: once in the interpreter signature section and once for the complexity change note. If the complexity change note lacks a signature, client confirmation is required before updating the job’s complexity.

11/06/2026

https://www.gmbinterpreters.org.uk/news/gmb-takes-on-the-ministry-of-justice-to-the-high-court

04/06/2026

The Ministry of Justice has provided a table showing the number of completed service requests both through contracts (with thebigword Group Ltd and Clarion UK Ltd) and off-contract, for each year from 2020 to 2024, split by language. The data include criminal courts and civil & family courts, but no data for Tribunals or other types of Ministry of Justice interpreter usage, like the Probation Service requests. 2025 is conveniently skipped three days before the full data for it became available. Despite MOJ holding a lot more info there is no segregation on venues or types of court. Notably, that is ''the number of completed service requests'', which means it includes the cancellations. There are 26 commonly used languages = more than a 1000 bookings a year. Most of those have doubled over time. (and thats prior to 2025). Three of them have even tripled the requests. But the reason for that is not, as many colleagues think, rapidly increased number of qualified and experienced interpreters for court. - despite MOJ attempting that with lowering the thresholds, people are just not interested to rremain in the profession. Neither the numbers for many of the languages have increased, certainly not the most European ones after the Brexit. The real reason is the number of hearings adjourned because of no interprter being booked, irrespective of what the official court data shows... That is the most important conclusion.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-03-17/121516

23/05/2026

The AI working group in the Ministry Of Justice about Language Services (not only AI) is not sitting currently. New framework is developed but not revealed (including by NRPSI). The following suspected members of that project were confirmed. Besides HMCTS (courts) representatives those include: ATC (Association of Translation Companies - including Thebigword); CIOL (Chartered Institute Of Linguistics - the examining and awarding body); ITI (institute of Translation and Interpreting - having its own group focused on AI boundaries and development); Judges - possibly one of their union branches (but not the GMB one).
Mark Rice confirmed the working group hasn't attempted to define when the court interpreting needs to be done on face-to-face basis.

Currently the remote (CVP) interpreting jobs represent 38% of all bookings made through Thebigword as main contracted service provider. And the number keeps growing. All info about bookings created as or amended to CVP is being sent to MOJ. The Ministry has written to us they ''don't collect data on remote bookings''. Every cancellation with its author and stated reason is been reported to MOJ by TBW.
It was not answered whether Tbw coordinators ask the courts to cancel shortly before the court jobs start time when refusing the offered amendement to CVP. It was admitted there are financial sanctions to the agency for unfulfilment . Those are not on automatical (level) basis. They happen occasionally, when specific complaint follows from a court or judge.
It was also shared the Ministry doesn't pay the agency cancellation on the spot fees any differently than cancellation within 24 hours of the start time.

Also acknowledged was that, when the interpreter's services are not needed upon arrival at the venue the courts sign off interpreters as if they interpreted and not as cancelled.

Mark Rice reiterated that MOJ does not pay TBW any travel costs within the fees for interpreting. But admitted the Ministry doesn't pay Thebigword less than before, as well as that Tbw reduced the travel add-ons for us and even completely removed them for some languages. He quoted market pressures and reminded we are being already receiving two punds increase in the actual interpreting base rate.

No interpreters are being prioritised by the Wordsynk on the basis of volume of work done with tbw, pay they demand, or on the volume of their cancellations and latenesses. ''You can quote me on that'' - said Thebigword boss - ''All interpreters from one language and certain area and moment of time see the same offers'' in the Wordsynk app. When it was suggested to him Tbw staff might not have full control over the Wordsynk AI, he dismissed it as a conspiracy theory.
He said he doesn't know why our minimum two hour base pay is being applied and paid but is still not implemented in our interpreting service agreement with Tbw, while admitting the agency regularly updates that agreement and was well aware the remote bookings and late cancellations on the spot are not paid with the same two-hour minimum, introduced in October 2024. He reminded Thebigword are business for profit.
https://www.gmbinterpreters.org.uk/news/new-info-from-thebigword-summit

11/05/2026

We are very proud to present our brand new website www.gmbinterpreters.org.uk !!!
At the Home page everyone can see the problems established at the court interpreting and not only there. Along with solutions we propose for the field of professional interpreting in the UK.
Our former, current and some future campaigns are also published. Including the “Apprehensions” campaign some members led recently, collecting independent info for court bookings on the spot. That led to spotted malpractices that affect the official data of The Ministry Of Justice.
Anybody can contact us or but only registered union members can upload evidence or access more information and sections.
The website was built for a week with the use of the latest trending AI. In the course of that progressive mutual collaboration obstacles were being established in the tasks given and in the following results, before being overwhelmed or alleviated with differing approaches. Indicative for the way ahead…
GMB Interpreters

01/05/2026

GMB INTERPRETERS are gathering at a virtual branch meeting on 6th of May, 5pm

To approve our manifesto and the content on our WEBSITE, activating it.
All members are going to be able to submit anonymously evidence on our pages as well as add suggestions in the FAQ section and not only. As well as getting help.

After we began collecting independently data on the spot for different malpractices of both Thebigword and MOJ we manage to discover and outline many reasons for the backlog; real unfulfillment and cancellations; looked at some contractual provisions in our service agreement; feedback requirements; the AI role existing already as well as the current stance of its forthcoming development for the use of interpreting.

Based on all the research and analysis from the past one year we also made number of suggestions for resolving the issues in possible ways of regulation. That all ‘’crystalized’’ now in our 6 page long Manifesto - to be posted at our designated webspace. And from there to be appearing and be used in our future external communications.

GMB Interprters

12/03/2026

Any fellow member who has been cancelled a tbw court job on the spot or en route to the venue but was signed by the court as if interpreted for the minimum 2 hours duration rather than as cancelled on the spot or en route to the venue, please write to us for instruction how to coplain straight to HMCTS for courts not following correct procedure, hence no need of coplaining to tbw first. And you will not lose what has been already invoiced and/or paid. The goal is to expose the wrongly collected filed MOJ data for un/fulfilment and cancellations.

28/01/2026

The need for our High Court claim and collecting evidence on the spot by ourselves is essential. Our expectation that the government's move for larger cvp use in courts as a step before further AI implementation is being confirmed in the memo for the new tender.
While the odd MOJ promise for collaboration with the interpreters looks less realistic with the poor ministerial account of keeping such promices so far.
A dialogue is needed at least.

Minister for Courts and Legal Services says contracts awarded to thebigword, Translate UK, Clarion UK, and The Language Shop