25 February 2016
NRCPD has written to agencies advising them of the decision by the Ministry of Justice that the Self Regulatory Body for Sign Language Interpreters and Translators Ltd (RBSLI) does not meet the requirements to be included in its second generation contract for the provision of language services.
The decision was made after the Ministry asked the organisations mentioned in the specification - NRCPD, RBSLI and the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI) - to explain how they fulfil their role as a regulator.
The Ministry concluded NRCPD and SASLI meet its requirements, but "RBSLI does not at this stage have sufficient governance, policies and processes in place to be named as a voluntary regulatory body in our specification".
Sandra Verkuyten OBE, chair of NRCPD, said: "NRCPD welcomes the Ministry's assessment. It provides independent evidence of the fitness of the three organisations to regulate, which will further enhance public protection.
"Following this assessment, we have written to organisations that supply communication and language professionals working with deaf and deafblind people. We have advised them to consider carefully whether membership of RBSLI provides their clients with an adequate level of protection."
