EIHR-Contact Scotland BSL

Concepts

• edinburgh
• translation services
• contact scotland bsl
• deaf bsl users
• deaf bsl
• bsl
• the contact scotland bsl service
• bsl users
• scotland
• deaf and deafblind bsl users

Location

Scotland:

Description

The Scottish Government is seeking to establish a BSL/English Video Relay Service which enables BSL users to make short video calls using a BSL/English interpreter and emerging services on offer that complement a Video Relay Service. The Scottish Government requires a service that provides quality in terms of BSL/English interpreter translation and by reliable technical infrastructure. Suppliers should be able to demonstrate a high degree of cultural and linguistic awareness of Deaf and Deafblind BSL users who will use the service.

Total Quantity or Scope

The existing service, Contact Scotland BSL, has been in operation since 2016 and has been expanded to provide a 24 hour a day, 365 days a year national service. BSL users are able to call any public service, third sector organisation, private service or friends and family and can also receive calls. The service also handles calls using a Braille display for deafblind people. It should be noted it is not an emergency service. The objectives of the Contract are to: - Ensure that, through the Contact Scotland BSL service, public services, third sector organisations, as well as private sector services and personal calls to family and friends in Scotland are made accessible to Deaf BSL users who need to interact with them; - Ensure that the Contact Scotland BSL service is delivered to the highest possible standard, with optimal reliability, integrity and fitness-for-purpose; is future-proofed, continuously improved and able to be developed and scaled-up; is protected from inappropriate use or abuse; - Provide value-for-money to the public purse through delivery of an effective, efficient, competitive and comprehensive service. The service comprises four main elements: - Comprehensive management of the service; - software; - hardware; - BSL/English interpreting and interpreting personnel. The service will go live on 1 December 2025 following an implementation period. Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Renewal Options

The contract may be extended, at the sole discretion of Scottish Ministers by up to 24 months.

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 79530000 - Translation services

Indicators

• This is a one-off contract (no recurrence)
• Options are available.
• Renewals are available.
• Financial restrictions apply.
• Staff qualifications are relevant.
• Technical restrictions apply.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** Question Scoring Methodology for Award Criteria outlined in invitation to tender 0 Unacceptable. Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement. 1 Poor. Response is partially relevant but generally poor. The response addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled. 2 Acceptable. Response is relevant and acceptable. The response addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas. 3 Good. Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled. 4 Excellent. Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. Please note there are minimum requirements concerning Cyber Security for this contract. Tenderers are also asked to confirm: that they will pay staff that are involved in the delivery of services under the contract, at least the real Living Wage. they will meet standards on payment of subcontractors Tenderers who do not pass these questions will not be subject to Commercial Analysis. As a result the tender will not be considered further. Bidders must complete the SPD (Scotland) to demonstrate adherence to the Exclusion and Selection Criteria for this procurement. If there are named subcontractors/technicians upon which the bidder will rely to meet the selection criteria, these named parties must complete and reattach the SPD Supplier Response Form attached to SPD. The contract value is estimated to be no less than 700,000 – 750,000 GBP per annum for each financial year. Subject to Ministerial commitments, Scottish Ministers reserve the right to increase the budget. Scottish Ministers reserves the right to purchase additional services on an annual basis. The volume of additional minutes should not exceed 50% the Bundled Monthly Package amounts per year. In the event of exceeding the normal annual amounts, the cost per minute value will be used to purchase additional services. If the extension option is applied a CPI uplift may apply as outlined in the Pricing Schedule. The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 29421. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343 (SC Ref:801063)