£25m police translation bill
POLICE in England and Wales spent more than £25million on translations in dealing with foreign nationals last year – enough to pay for more than 650 officers.
The cost has risen steadily from just around £13.6million in 2004, when 10 new states including Poland entered the EU.
Some forces have seen particularly large rises in their interpreting costs. In London, the Metropolitan Police spent around £12.5million on language services, including public safety campaigns, in the last financial year, a 45 per cent rise over the last four years in the capital where more than 300 languages are spoken.
In June the force warned its translation costs are set to rise to £20million a year by 2012. Meanwhile, Greater Manchester, Thames Valley and West Mercia each spent more than £1million on translation in 2008, according to separate figures obtained by the Conservatives.
Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green said: “This reveals one more hidden cost of the failure to control immigration numbers under this Government.”