Wolverhampton council pay out £630,000 for private language interpreters and translators
More than £600,000 has been spent by Wolverhampton city council on providing translators and interpreters over the last three years.
The authority used contractor The Big Word, which provides staff when they are needed in children's services and social services.
But the cost has been criticised by a city councillor, who says recent immigrants should be encouraged to learn English.
The cost comes as the council faces huge cuts. It has been forced to make savings of £175 million over the past six years and it is estimated another £54m still has to be found.
In 2014/15 translation and interpreting services cost the council £193,093.88, in 2015/16 they cost £320,890.87 and so far this year they have cost £117,044.80.
The total amount spent is over £630,000. The council has said it is legally obliged to provide translation services in certain circumstances.
Councillor Andrew Johnson, cabinet member for resources, said: "We don't routinely print documents in lots of different languages, which is a common misconception.
"The majority of the cost goes on providing these services to ensure vulnerable people are able to understand what is happening in complex circumstances such as child protection proceedings and domestic violence issues."
However, some have questioned why so much is being spent, especially when the government are keen to promote the learning of English.
Conservative councillor for Tettenhall Regis, Udey Singh said: "Does the council think the amount spent is appropriate, considering that government are pressing for immigrants to learn English?
"I understand that legally we do have to provide these services but a serious question needs to be asked about how sustainable this level of spending is. We should be incentivising recent immigrants to the city to learn English so as to not hamper them in their future job and life prospects."
The contract with the Big Word is up for renewal on October 30.
The news follows an announcement made by David Cameron in January this year which detailed a £20 million language fund aimed at encouraging immigrants to learn English.
