---
title: "EIHR-Contact Scotland BSL"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04f91d"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04f91d"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f91d.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f91d.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT"
published: "2025-09-22"
---

# EIHR-Contact Scotland BSL

Buyer: SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04f91d

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## Summary

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.

## Notice

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.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058414-2025 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 22 Sep 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 11 Jul 2025 |
| Future notice date | 20 May 2025 |
| Award date | 17 Sep 2025 |
| Contract period | 31 Aug 2025 - 30 Nov 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £3,000,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT |
| Locality | EDINBURGH |
| Post town | Edinburgh |
| Postcode | EH6 6QQ |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM1 East Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM13 City of Edinburgh |
| Local authority | City of Edinburgh |
| Electoral ward | Leith |
| Westminster constituency | Edinburgh North and Leith |
| Delivery location | TLM Scotland |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | SIGN SOLUTIONS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 79530000 - Translation services

## Release History

- 22 Sep 2025 at 10:19 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058414-2025
- 9 Jun 2025 at 15:35 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/031063-2025
- 26 Mar 2025 at 16:24 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011395-2025

## Notice URLs

- http://www.scotland.gov.uk
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000801063
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA10482
- https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04f91d. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f91d.json.