The scheme will run for two years.
NHS to spend £73m on translators for patients who do not speak English (Image: Getty)
The NHS has earmarked £73million to spend on translation services for non-English speakers. Trusts may use select firms that have been awarded contracts to provide translation services to patients, following a tender posted on the Government website.
Services could include face-to-face translators speaking a range of languages, 24/7 telephone interpretation services, video translation services, and document translations for manuals, leaflets and websites, as revealed by The Sun. The money could also be used to pay for British Sign Language translators for the deaf community.
The cost of translation and interpretation services is believed to have increased significantly in recent years. A Telegraph investigation revealed that by 2024-25, the costs had reached £64million. This was more than double the £31million spent by trusts and integrated care boards in 2020-21.
However, NHS Shared Business Services, which designs the contracts, has insisted the figure is likely to be much lower than £73 million.
This number represents the maximum spend limit for all participating trusts and is not indicative of actual spending. The framework is there to provide a pre-approved list of suppliers that organisations can work with.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told The Sun that the UK “should not be spending a single penny of taxpayer money” on foreign language translation.
He said any foreign national who cannot speak English should “learn the language or leave”, and deemed it “shocking” that more than a million British citizens do not speak English well or at all, as revealed in the last census.
An NHS spokesperson said: “Translation and interpretation services are a legal requirement and essential to delivering effective and safe patient care, and it is right that the NHS offers these.”
The scheme began in November 2025, and will run for two years until November 2027.
