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EIHR-Contact Scotland BSL

Scottish Government

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

22 Sep 2025 at 11:19

Award Notice
Tender

09 Jun 2025 at 16:35

Tender Notice
Planning

26 Mar 2025 at 16:24

Planning Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Scottish Government has completed the procurement process for the "EIHR-Contact Scotland BSL," a service that aims to establish a reliable British Sign Language (BSL)/English Video Relay Service. This service is crucial for enabling BSL users to make video calls using interpreters. Situated in Edinburgh, the service encompasses a wide reach, ensuring accessibility for users across various public and private sectors in Scotland. The procurement process was conducted under the Open Procedure method, culminating in the award stage on 18 September 2025, with the service set to go live on 1 December 2025. The contract, worth at least £700,000 annually, has been structured to allow for potential extensions of up to 24 months at the discretion of the Scottish Ministers, with provisions for additional services should demand exceed the original scope.

This procurement opens significant opportunities for businesses in the translation and communication services industry, particularly those with expertise in BSL/English interpretation and a strong technical backbone to support continuous service operations. Businesses with experience in handling large-scale communication services, those familiar with the needs of Deaf and Deafblind users, and companies committed to ongoing service enhancement and cultural competence are well-suited to compete. Successful bidders will likely bolster their market position within the UK, leveraging their capacity in delivering high-quality, efficient, and culturally aware communication solutions. The focus on quality, technological reliability, and cultural awareness underscores the competitive advantage for businesses capable of meeting these rigorous standards.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

EIHR-Contact Scotland BSL

Notice 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.

Lot Information

Lot 1

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.

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

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

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04f91d
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058414-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Planning Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79530000 - Translation services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£3,000,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
22 Sep 202511 months ago
Submission Deadline
11 Jul 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
21 May 2025Expired
Award Date
18 Sep 202511 months ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2025 - 30 Nov 2027 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Scottish Government
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
EDINBURGH
Postcode
EH6 6QQ
Postcode Area
Edinburgh
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM1 East Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM13 City of Edinburgh
Delivery Location
TLM Scotland
Local Authority
City of Edinburgh
Electoral Ward
Leith
Westminster Constituency
Edinburgh North and Leith

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Sign Solutions

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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