Kirklees Council spends over a quarter of a million pounds on translation fees every year.
It spends an average of £255,000, with most of the money going to its own in-house translation unit, which also sells its services to other public sector organisations, such as the NHS.
The expenditure includes salaries for a small team of staff, IT and office costs and the figures were revealed in a Freedom on Information (FOI) request to Kirklees Council.
At a time when councils are looking at ways of reducing costs, the Kirklees translation unit has generated external income of £72,000.
Emergencies and an out-of-hours service are provided by the global agency Big Word.
The council is legally obliged to provide translation services in a number of situations, particularly where safeguarding is an issue. These may cover services for vulnerable adults or providing translation services and statements in court.
A spokesman for Kirklees Council said: “The council retains an in-house translation service because of the vital work required in areas like child protection, legal services, and with vulnerable adults.
“It deals with face-to-face interpreting for hearings or legal cases, and translation of statements to be presented in court.
“However the Community Languages Service also generates an income for the council by working on behalf of other public sector clients, and this financial year will make a surplus of around £72,000.”
