Official UK procurement notice
BLC0313 Language Services Framework: (PRELIMINARY MARKET ENGAGEMENT )
Authority: BLUELIGHT COMMERCIAL LIMITED (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionBlueLight Commercial, on behalf of police forces in England and Wales, is seeking to engage with suppliers ahead of a planned procurement for the provision of multi-language translation and interpreting services operating 24/7 using various delivery formats including: face to face, telephone, video/remote, BSL (and other non-verbal communication techniques), transcription and written/document translation.
BlueLight Commercial is looking for alternative and innovative service delivery models that will provide value for money, flexibility, and high-quality service provision to ensure individuals are not disadvantaged within the legal system/processes due to language barriers.
This would replace the current National Policing Language Services Dynamic Purchasing Solution (DPS) which was developed specifically for the police and is due to expire in September 2027
CPV: Interpretation services · Translation services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 8 yrs from 1 Sept 2027
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- “BLC0313 Language Services Framework: (PRELIMINARY MARKET ENGAGEMENT )” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How BLUELIGHT COMMERCIAL LIMITED buys Interpretation services (CPV 7954), and who usually turns up
BLUELIGHT COMMERCIAL LIMITED’s published record next to the market for the same work. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Interpretation services (CPV 7954) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 67 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid19% / 0%
2–330% / 7%
4–613% / 0%
7+38% / 93%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 79Published estimate£120m
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 79. The comparison uses that group.
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 1,184 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid4%
2–314%
4–621%
7+61%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 24 Jun 2025, 10:16 BST
- Last source update
- 8 May 2026, 16:56 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-042727- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-055245Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
24 Jun 2025 → 1 Sept 2027 · 5 dates- Planning notice published24 Jun 2025, 10:16 BST
- Latest notice published169 days ago8 May 2026, 16:56 BST
- Market engagement148 days ago29 May 2026, 23:59 BST
In preparation for establishing the replacement National Police Language Services Framework in 2027, comments and feedback are being sought from organisations who currently operate within the Language Services marketplace.
As part of this market engagement process, input will be obtained initially using a questionnaire. BlueLight Commercial reserves the right to then follow up with further discussions on any points of interest or clarification with individual organisations.
The following documents are being made available, to provide information on how language services are delivered currently (see below for how to access them)
- The current National Language Services DPS specification.
- The current National Language Services DPS Terms and Conditions
- The current PAIT ‘Table’
- A copy of the method statement details which were asked for when the DPS was originally tendered in 2020.
- A link to the BlueLight Commercial website, where further information is contained on the current national framework.
- The questionnaire for providing feedback into how the future delivery of language services should be considered.*
- Please note that if the questionnaire is not available at the point that the Pre Market Engagement Notice is published, it will be added to the etender portal ASAP after launch
Access to the documents involved in this market engagement process is to be made via our e-tender portal, InTend Access Link: sell2.in-tend.co.uk/blpd/home ↗
It is free to register on the portal. Once registered and logged in, you will need to go to the "Portals" page and find BlueLight Commercial and select "Connect with Organisation" to access our area of the portal. Once connected go to the "Tenders" page and in the keyword search “BLC0313” to find the opportunity, select "View in Portal" and express an interest to access the documentation.
Please note that Police Forces in England and Wales will be migrating to the Atamis etendering system towards the end of May 2026. Further details and a link to the Atamis system will be added to the InTend portal
- Today25 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 9 days2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 311 days1 Sept 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 24 Jun 2025- Pipeline notice published24 Jun 2025, 10:16 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published8 May 2026, 16:56 BSTUK2
- Published value published: £120,000,0008 May 2026, 16:56 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender