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Provision of Student Communication Support Services

University of Strathclyde

This public procurement record has 5 releases in its history.

Award

29 Jul 2026 at 12:32

Award Notice
Tender

15 Jul 2026 at 08:41

Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

11 Mar 2026 at 14:48

Tender Notice
Tender

10 Mar 2026 at 10:47

Tender Notice
Planning

23 May 2025 at 08:44

Planning Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of Strathclyde’s Disability and Wellbeing Services procured a framework for student communication support for Deaf students and students with hearing loss. The requirement covers British Sign Language interpreters for teaching activities such as lectures, laboratories and tutorials, wider university activities, and online or in-person study materials including podcasts, recorded lectures and readings. It also covers electronic notetakers who provide summaries for students unable to take their own notes while lipreading or watching an interpreter. The framework includes live remote captioning, using palantypists who type remotely accessed audio for display through a web interface. Services are delivered for the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. The procurement is categorised mainly as interpretation services, with related translation and higher education support services.

This procurement has been awarded under an open procedure for a framework agreement. The estimated framework value was £600,000, with spend dependent on the University’s requirements and no guaranteed volume. The award for the student communication support lot went to Prestige Network Limited, Sign Solutions, Deaf Action and Just Sign Limited. The awarded contract value is £1,036,995.83, and the contract was signed on 14 July 2026. The contract period is 720 days, with two possible extensions of up to 12 months each at the University’s discretion. Bids were evaluated equally on quality and price. Seven bids were received, all from SMEs, and all were submitted electronically. The requirement is identified as recurring in July 2030.

This procurement shows established demand for specialist communication support within a higher education setting, including BSL interpretation, electronic notetaking and live remote captioning. Suppliers well placed for a future requirement would need appropriately qualified, experienced and trained personnel who understand how to support disabled students in higher education. For BSL interpreting, the stated requirement was for band 1 and band 2 interpreters registered with the appropriate membership bodies. Electronic notetakers were expected to hold Signature level 3 or Signature level 4 certification. Credible providers would also need to demonstrate three relevant examples from the previous three years, maintain professional liability insurance, and have the operational capacity to respond to student demand that varies between semesters. The successful supplier group included SMEs, indicating that specialist smaller providers can compete, potentially alongside delivery partners.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Student Communication Support Services

Notice Description

The University's Disability and Wellbeing Services requires the establishment of a Framework for various forms of Student Communication Support Services to support students who are Deaf or have hearing loss.

Lot Information

UK Tax Advice

The University's Disability and Wellbeing Services requires the establishment of a Framework for various forms of Student Communication Support Services to support students who are Deaf or have hearing loss. The Framework will comprise of two main elements. British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters are required to provide communication support to Deaf students during planned teaching activity such as lectures, labs and tutorials and to enable them to access all aspects of the wider University social experience outside of formal teaching sessions. Where necessary, they are also required to provide translation support outside of lectures and classes, both online or in-person, to aid Deaf students with direct study which can include podcasts, pre-recorded lectures and readings. Electronic notetakers (ENT) are required to provide a set of notes for Deaf or hard of hearing students who cannot take their own notes because they are either lipreading or watching a sign language interpreter. They are required to provide a summary of what is being said rather than a word-for-word account. All personnel delivering these services must be appropriately qualified, experienced, and trained in supporting disabled students within higher education settings. This contract requires the provision of band 1 and band 2 BSL Interpreters holding registration with the appropriate membership bodies and Electronic Notetakers holding signature level 3 and signature level 4 certification. The number of students that require these services varies from year to year and is not finalised until the start of each semester. 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: In line with Regulation 72 - Modification of Contracts During their Term, of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, this Contract may be modified without a new procurement procedure in accordance with this Part in some cases.

Renewal: The contract is subject to two up to 12-month extensions. Any extension is to be exercised at the University's entire discretion and will only be valid upon written notification to the Tenderer no later than 30 days prior to the expiry of the preceding term.

Overseas and Global Mobility Tax Advice

Lot 2 (Overseas and Global Mobility Tax Advice) will include, but is not limited to: - General advice on overseas taxes including but not limited to and depending on the overseas jurisdiction: corporate, personal, VAT, WHT, digital etc. - Global mobility implications of employees working overseas to ensure the University and the employee(s) are fully compliant with local regulations and legislative requirements in-country. - Ability to provide, as required, an assessment of additional cost to the University because of overseas posting. - Advice in respect of overseas employer and employee tax, social security, and associated reporting, payment and/or filing obligations that emerge from having a globally mobile workforce with employees operating in various overseas countries. - Overseas planning to ensure collaborations/working arrangements between the University and other organisations are structured in a tax efficient way whilst ensuring tax compliance and efficiency to limit liabilities (e.g., to mitigate creation of a PE where/if applicable). - Advice and implications of overseas registration for the University and subsequent set up as and where appropriate (e.g., payroll operations, in country registrations, in country filing of returns and making payments as required). - Ability to assist in implementing payroll and reporting requirements in overseas jurisdictions. Advice may also be requested on shadow payroll and where tax, wage and benefits must be compliantly paid and reported, the University may also require that overseas payroll services are provided in the form of advice, set-up, implementation and management of payroll services in one or multiple host territories. Management of the payroll services will include the payment of wages on a frequency agreed with the University as well as annual reporting. Preparation of payslips and preparation of statutory payroll forms, as well as direct overseas payroll may also be required where the employee is required to be paid in the currency of the host territory. - Ability to assist in preparation and submission of return submissions in overseas countries if applicable. - Minimising tax liabilities without risk of non-compliance. - Providing guidance on changes in legislation for any overseas tax operations. 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: In line with Regulation 72 - Modification of Contracts During their Term, of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, this Contract may be modified without a new procurement procedure in accordance with this Part in some cases.

Renewal: The contract is subject to two up to 12-month extensions. Any extension is to be exercised at the University's entire discretion and will only be valid upon written notification to the Tenderer no later than 30 days prior to the expiry of the preceding term.

Provision of Live Remote Captioning

The University of Strathclyde requires Live Remote Captioning (LRC) to be typed by palantypists who are accessing audio remotely, to enable students to access captions on their own device via a web interface.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-051fdc
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/071664-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Planning Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
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

80 - Education and training services

98 - Other community, social and personal services

CPV Codes

79220000 - Fiscal services

79221000 - Tax consultancy services

79530000 - Translation services

79540000 - Interpretation services

80300000 - Higher education services

80340000 - Special education services

98300000 - Miscellaneous services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£600,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£1,036,995 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
29 Jul 20264 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
12 Aug 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
25 Jun 2025Expired
Award Date
14 Jul 20261 months ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
July 2030

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
University of Strathclyde
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
GLASGOW
Postcode
G1 1XU
Postcode Area
Glasgow
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM3 West Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM32 Glasgow City
Delivery Location
TLM82 Glasgow City
Local Authority
Glasgow City
Electoral Ward
Anderston/City/Yorkhill
Westminster Constituency
Glasgow North East

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
4
Supplier Names

Deaf Action

Just Sign Limited

Prestige Network Limited

Sign Solutions

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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