£1m spent on 2024 Jobcentre translation services

Well, well, well. It turns out that just under £1 million was spent on Jobcentre translation last year, with £882,118 splashed on language assistance including the International Pension Service. The figure was revealed in a parliamentary answer from the Department for Work and Pensions to Reform’s Rupert Lowe this week – who has called on the department to bin off all of its foreign language interpretation services.

The revelation comes after it emerged that interpreters for benefits claimants have cost the British taxpayer almost £30 million over the last five years. As reported by the Telegraph, £27 million has been spent on language help since 2019. The highest yearly spend was in 2022, with £8 million splurged – compared with £1.7 million the year before. Meanwhile a million calls to the DWP Universal Credit helpline needed the assistance of a foreign language interpreter last year. In fact, during the first few months of Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government, the DWP splashed a staggering average of £25,000 a day on language aid.