Official UK procurement notice
EIHR-Contact Scotland BSL · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Scottish Government (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe 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.
CPV: Translation services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1The existing service, Contact Scotland BSL, has been in operation since 2016 and has…AwardedRenewal
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.
What 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).
Published sub-criteria (8)
- Ability to provide the requirement: 15
- Service Delivery: 30
- Technical Proposal: 25
- Staffing, Knowledge and Expertise: 20
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR): 2.5
- Fair Work First: 5
- Community Benefits: 2.5
- price: 30
Published award criteria (8)
- Ability to provide the requirement: 15
- Service Delivery: 30
- Technical Proposal: 25
- Staffing, Knowledge and Expertise: 20
- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR): 2.5
- Fair Work First: 5
- Community Benefits: 2.5
- Price: 30
- Economic & financial standing
Financial Ratios - Bidders must demonstrate a Current Ratio of 0.8 or more.
The current ratio shall be calculated as current assets/current liabilities and shall be based on the previous financial year. There must be no qualification or contra-indication from any evidence provided in support of the bidders economic and financial standing
Minimum: - Public Liability Insurance (In the sum not less) - 5,000,000 GBP; - Professional Indemnity Insurance (In the sum not less) - 2,000,000 GBP; - Employer’s Liability Insurance - employer’s liability insurance in accordance with any legal obligation for the time being in force. Suc… - Technical & professional ability
- Relevant examples of previous experience
- Supply Chain Management/Tracking Systems Used
- Environmental Management Measures
Minimum: - Bidders will be required to provide examples that demonstrate that they have the relevant experience to deliver the services/supplies as described in part II.2.4 of the Contract Notice or the relevant section of the Site Notice. - If bidders intend to use a supply chain to deli…
- Staff
- Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
- Price carries 30 of 130 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 26 Mar 2025, 16:24 GMT
- Last source update
- 22 Sept 2025, 11:19 BST
- Award evaluation window
- 11 Jul 2025 – …
- Authority reference
Case 764539- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-058414- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04f91dFind a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed · electronic ordering · electronic payment
Publisher note: 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. (SC Ref:810808)
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 11 Jul 2025, 11:00 BST
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Participation fee
- document
- Bid validity
- 180 days from the deadline
- Bids opened
- 11 Jul 2025, 11:00 BST
Timeline
21 May 2025 → 22 Sept 2025 · 5 dates- Next notice expected21 May 2025, 00:00 BST
- Submission deadline11 Jul 2025, 11:00 BST
- Bids opened11 Jul 2025, 11:00 BST
- Contract starts1 Sept 2025, 00:00 BST
- Notice published395 days ago22 Sept 2025, 11:19 BST
Notice history
4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 9 Jun 2025- Status changed to active9 Jun 2025, 16:35 BST
- Procurement method changed9 Jun 2025, 16:35 BST
- Deadline published: 11 Jul 2025, 11:00 BST9 Jun 2025, 16:35 BST
- Status changed to complete22 Sept 2025, 11:19 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sign Solutions UK LimitedSME | £3,000,000 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 058414-2025-Case 764539-1 · Sign Solutions UK LimitedSME
- Signed
- 18 Sept 2025
- Value
- £3,000,000
- Period
- … – 30 Nov 2027
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6bids · 6 electronic · 6 from abroad | 5 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- Edinburgh Sheriff CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Sign SolutionsAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.