Why is the public directing their anger at the individual asylum seeker that arrives at the shore…

Yes, I simply can’t fathom why so many shops say they are struggling to afford staff: most Saturday jobs are a thing of the past and the NI costs etc are punitive.

YET in my small town there are I now think SEVEN barbers, all with multiple men working there. And I don’t think the local quite old population has much hair! Ditto three or four car washes - masses of guys scrubbing away.

The authorities seem to turn a completely blind eye to why certain businesses can afford whole legions of staff…

Whilst probably having slightly different views, immigration does need to be handled - and seen to be handled. This gov’t goes about it on ways I don’t always agree with, but goes about it it does, whilst no one seems to realise they are doing a considerable amount, so the rise of Reform, possibly Advance - which are by any metric a terrifying prospect.
Re the black economy being attractive- I still have to be convinced otherwise that the gov’t, of any colour, doesn’t need this to an extent - never much done to break it.

I imagine AI will do away with need for physical interpreters within the NHS in the next few years anyway, already we have Google translate as a useful tool. It’ll save millions, but obviously translators will be out of a job.

As far as the anger directed at individual migrants outside hotels housing them and during organised marches, I agree it’s abhorrent and I shudder to see it in Britain. The rise of Reform is terrifying.
However like previous posters I do think we need to get a grip on migration both legal and illegal. How many undocumented, mainly, young men can the UK absorb peaceably from cultures that have very different attitudes and norms to our own.
It boggles the mind that we now have a situation where on calm temperate days in excess of 1000 migrants are arriving on small boats in one day - that’s the population of an average secondary school or a small village. Many have thrown their documents and phones into the sea and we have no way of knowing who we’re letting in. The arguments about who we accept and who we don’t seem largely moot given that once here few are actually deported (although I think this government is doing slightly better on that front) many launch appeal after appeal costing thousands in legal aid others slip into the black market and remain undocumented, our lack of ID cards and the large-scale nature of this shadow economy is frequently cited as a pull factor to the U.K.

I think it more likely smacks of lack of funds.

I would pay for a translator if needed, I can afford one.

Many of the people we’re talking about are either newer arrivals without a job yet, or lower paid migrants who likely can’t afford one.

I’m sure those with higher paid jobs and the funds available either would pay for one, or wouldn’t need one.

Possibly for tourists in resort towns, if only to get them on their way.

That may be so, but if it was my DH's issue/medication/operation/treatment under discussion I would want a fluent translator with me, rather than trusting to luck. Expecting translation service for free smacks of entitlement.

There's an argument for providing language interpretation services for asylum seekers/refugees for a limited amount of time, but not for economic migrants or those otherwise expected to support themselves - workers, students, tourists - which I assume those non-refugee deaf / deaf/blind users would fall under.

Sorry, two different conversation threads, getting confused. The discussion about Brits moving to Spain was originally brought up by another poster, and we went off on a tangent. Recourse to public funds depends on their visa type or immigration status; those with LLR, EU migrants with settled or pre-settled status can access public funds, as can others with NRPF in some circumstances, such as when there's a child involved or they are destitute. Arguably, if you come as a legal migrant with NRPF and can't support yourself, you should return home.

Let’s face it, that’s actually quite unlikely, because many people in Europe have some level of English skill.

and to still be able to attend a medical centre if I needed to.

@SleeplessInWherever you would be able to attend a medical centre in Spain if you needed to but you would have to pay for an interpreter.

You don’t know that she isn’t learning it. You don’t know if she has access to any opportunity to learn it.

You don’t know how long she’s been here for, as you said yourself you assumed.

You know nothing about this woman, apart from what you’ve seen of her in a doctor’s surgery and have formed an uninformed judgement on.

You’re doing an awful lot of being bothered about someone you know nothing about.

I don’t know why you’re so deeply bothered by a woman you don’t know a thing about and have no dealings with.

It’s very difficult, almost impossible to learn a language without having someone to speak it with. New languages with new sounds require the persons mouth to be used to new shapes and positions, that muscle memory doesn’t evolve without speaking it out loud.
So it’s easy to say learn it before you move, but it’s not that simple.

Or maybe I can understand that to truly integrate and be part of society you need to learn the language.

The woman was in her 50s at least. She had health records at the GP surgery and was struggling to communicate about her needs. Obviously I wish her well with her health issues, but had she been here for a while (which I assume but do not know) she probably should have picked up the language.

Ok…and what?
refugees and asylum seekers aren’t the only people who use interpreters. Other kinds of migrants and those who are deaf and deafblind also need them.

Then I dont understand what you’re saying, Spain also gives asylum seekers an allowance, and Refugees in Spain are entitled to same benefits are Spanish nationals once they are given refugee status. Which is the exact same as our system.

No. 52% use it as their first language, a further 38% speak it well but it is not their first language. Which means 10% don’t speak it well.

Maybe?

But maybe you also should mind your own business about conversations with receptionists that you’re not part of, with people you don’t know.

Maybe.

We don’t know the context of why she is/was here. If you were with a partner got a new job in a different country would you be able to learn the new language before moving? I know I wouldn’t in a few of months, as I have other commitments and family responsibilities.
Or say I was fleeing war or being persecuted - what would I do hold off until I learn the language or evacuate? Where am I going to access English classes or resources to be able to learn in those circumstances?

Maybe she should have learnt the language before moving? Or at least developed a conversational understanding?

On your first point, I do think context would be relevant. Somebody just out in public chatting with the person/people they're with, fine. Two men hanging around an area with lots of women or children, not so much (and I’d feel the same about men speaking English if they looked leery/dodgy).

Absolutely, which is why I indicated that I support a reasonable cap, not abolition.

I have seen comments about people feeling “unnerved” because people around them are speaking different languages to each other.

However even using your example, if I’d just arrived in Spain, and had not yet been able to learn Spanish, I’d hope for some grace while that happened, and to still be able to attend a medical centre if I needed to.

You did. That’s one woman, with limited language skills.

You don’t know many things about that situation. How long she’s been here, whether she’s waiting for English lessons, whether she’s actually trying to develop her English skills but is finding it difficult, whether someone more fluent usually goes either her.

You’re also not considering how difficult it must be for her to try and meet her basic needs, like a medical appointment, without the right skill set.

Not you specifically, but people do seem very quick to judge situations that they’re not privy to the full information about.

It says 52% speak it as their main language and 38% speak it well despite it not being their main language.
that adds up to the 90% that speak English well
so it would be 10% that do not speak English well.

. Tried to delete as I’d missed off what I was replying to

Yes, some parents would not allow any socialising outside school.
this is how parallel communities can develop.