Language provision in Scottish public services: inclusion in policy and in practice
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Date
29/07/2020Author
McKelvey, Róisín Rhiannon
Metadata
Abstract
Increased international mobility has resulted in language planning initiatives by a range of
different actors in Scotland, in order to respond to the growing linguistic diversity of the
population and to promote greater equality of access to public services. The ways in which
public service providers accommodate language needs among service users offer valuable
insight into equalities issues at the local level and into the interplay between policy and
practice. Following an analysis of the international, UK and Scottish legal and policy
instruments that comprise the equalities framework within which Scottish public bodies
operate, this thesis evaluates local, language-related strategies and practices in selected
public sector organisations which provide particularly important services to the public.
Language support, primarily in the form of interpretation and translation, allows public
sector service providers to accommodate the language needs of service users. This thesis
evaluates such provision in core Scottish public services, through the analysis of strategy
and guidance documents and public information with regard to multilingual provision, and a
series of semi-structured interviews that were conducted in Edinburgh and Glasgow with
service providers from NHS Boards, local authorities (with a separate focus on education)
and the criminal justice system. The extent to which these policies and practices respond to
the international, UK and Scotland-wide legal and policy frameworks is also evaluated.
Although it is addressed more explicitly in international law and in some domestic legislation
and policy, the position of language in the framework of UK equalities law is to some extent
ambiguous. This research found, however, that public service providers deem multilingual
provision to be important to their efforts to meet equalities obligations, as they appear to
perceive language support as a responsibility under equalities legislation. While this
inclusive interpretation of the law was a relatively consistent approach in both Edinburgh
and Glasgow, and there was also evidence of good practice and of efforts to consolidate
strategies across services, discrepancies and limitations were also identified.
At present, domestic legislation remains vague with regard to language, which contributes
to such gaps and inconsistencies in provision. In the absence of clear, centralised legal
requirements, the nature of language support tends to be determined at the local level, and
could be improved if language-related equalities requirements were clarified and strengthened. This thesis concludes that a more rigorous, inclusive approach to equalities
law, one that explicitly extended legal protection to language, would demand greater
consistency from public service providers, promote good practice and facilitate inclusion.
Coherent approaches to language provision in the public sector could significantly improve
accessibility and inclusion. If guidelines with regard to practice became more standardised
across sectors and geographical areas – through the publication of up to date language-related strategies by national bodies in Scotland, for instance – this would also facilitate
consistency in provision. Furthermore, public service providers themselves could, through
increased collaboration with one another, expand interpreting and translation services
through the sharing of resources and good practice.