How to Book an Interpreter

Notice Required

Due to high demands, as much notice as possible should be given, preferably two to four weeks. Interpreters maybe available at shorter notice. Please contact us to check. Priority is given to urgent requests such as:

• child and adult protection investigations
• mental health assessments
• urgent health appointments
• homelessness
• If you consider your appointment to be urgent, please contact us to discuss your request.

Information Required

You will need to provide the following:

• Your name and contact details.
• The date, time and duration of the appointment or meeting (please note that the interpreter may not be able to stay beyond the allocated time, due to other interpreting commitments).
• The nature of the appointment or meeting, with any background information that might be helpful.
• The full address of the venue.
• Any relevant paperwork that would be helpful for the interpreter, such as an agenda, minutes of previous meeting, copies of overhead notes etc. These should be sent to the interpreter at least one week prior to the booking, where possible.
• Where the assignment involves the use of any jargon or technical language, which the interpreter may not be familiar with, the interpreter should be provided with information prior to the booking.

Costs

Adult Social Services and Islington Primary Care Trust fund the sign language interpreting service.

The following charges apply:

Deaf people using the interpreting service	Free of charge
Staff within Islington Social Services	Free of charge
Staff within Islington Primary Care Trust	Free of charge
Staff within other Council departments	Charged at a competitive rate
Other local service providers	Charged at a competitive rate

Contact us for details of charges or if you are not sure whether you will be charged for the service.

Cancellation Policy and Charges

Due to high numbers of requests, it is important to notify us as soon as possible of cancellations of meetings/appointments or if the interpreter is no longer required.

National standards for cancellation charges apply:

Notice of five working days or less	100% of fee charged
Notice of between six and ten working days	50% of fee charged
Notice of more than ten working days	No charge