Official UK procurement notice
Translation and Interpreting Services Framework
Authority: East Sussex County Council (Local council)
What is being bought3 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionEast Sussex County Council has let this Translation and Interpreting Services Framework on behalf of the following organisations:
East Sussex County Council
Surrey County Council
Brighton & Hove City Council
West Sussex County Council
All District and Borough Councils and Maintained Schools covered by the International Territorial Level TLJ2 All Health Authorities
National Health Service Trusts
Integrated Care Boards, social care organisations,
and any other person(s) or body established or financed under the National Health Service Act 1977 as amended and future bodies (e.g. Foundation Trusts) associated with the delivery of healthcare, within East Sussex, Surrey, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex
Sussex Police Authority
Surrey Police Authority
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service
Surrey Fire and Rescue Service
South East Coast Ambulance Service
Voluntary and Community Organisations (including 3rd Sector Organisations) and Housing Associations with a presence in East Sussex, Surrey, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex.
The Framework will commence on 1st January 2026 for a term of 4 years.
This is a multi-supplier and multi Lot Framework.
The Lot structure is:
- Lot 1. Spoken Language - remote (telephone/video) and face-to-face.
- Lot 2. Face-to-Face and Video Interpreting Services for Non-spoken Languages (eg: BSL)
- Lot 3. Translation, Transcription and Ancillary Services
The Framework values are shared across all three Lots, with no guarantee of value or volume of Framework Call-Offs.
- How the procedure runs: We are utilising a two stage Competitive Flexible Procedure process. At Stage 1, a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) will be used to assess and down select bidders to be taken forwards to Stage 2 the Invitation to Tender.
CPV: Interpretation services · Translation services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Open framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs are awarded directly to appointed suppliers, without further competition
- Bids received
- 9 bids on the busiest of 3 lots · 10 suppliers appointed
- Framework period
- 4 yrs · up to 6 yrs from 1 Jan 2026
- Buyer regions
- UKJ2, UKJ3, UKJ4
- Supplier levy on call-offs (max %)
2% of call-off value · For Shortlisted Bidders that are successfully appointed to the Framework, if the total annual spend from all Participating Authorities is £5,000 or more (excluding VAT), those Shortlisted Bidders will be required to pay a Framework Fee (calculated as 2% of the total annual spend) to the Council to support and facilitate the administration of the Framework. The Framework Fee will be collected annually in arrears.
Who may buy through it
SCC, WSCC, BH&CC , All D&BC's in the regions covered by the International Territorial Level (ITL) TLJ2
Maintained Schools in the regions covered by ITL TLJ2; All Health Authorities, National Health Service Trusts, Integrated Care Boards, social care organisations, CCG's and any other person(s) or body established or financed under the National Health Service Act 1977 as amended and future bodies associated with the delivery of healthcare, within East Sussex, Surrey, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex;
Sussex Police Authority Surrey Police Authority
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service Surrey Fire and Rescue Service
Ambulance Services SECAMB
Voluntary and Community Organisations (including Third Sector Organisations) with a presence in East Sussex, Surrey, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex
Housing Associations with a presence in East Sussex, Surrey, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex. Any combined mayoral authority or strategic authority
Published description of the framework
CALL-OFF ORDER PROCEDURE
If a Participating Authority decides to source the Services through the Framework then it may do so without re-opening competition by following the procedure set out below.
Any Other Participating Authority shall be entitled to issue an Order for Services and enter into a Call-off Contract with the Service Provider following completion of an Access Agreement with the Council.
Identifying a Framework Provider for a Call-off Contract
Any Participating Authority calling off Services under this Framework Agreement shall:
Identify the relevant Lot that its Service Requirements fall into;
Send an Order to the Top Ranked Provider;
If the Top Ranked Provider is not able to provide the Services (either within the required timescales or at all), send an Order to the Framework Provider ranked next highest (as set out in the framework agreement (Framework Rankings));
repeat the process set out above until the Order is fulfilled or there are no further Framework Providers qualified to fulfil it.
The Framework Prices are fixed for the duration of the Framework Term and shall not be subject to indexation.
Any request by the Service Provider for an increase to the Framework Prices will be rejected unless exceptional evidence can be advanced by the Service Provider, which the Council may review at its sole discretion. Any increase to the Framework Prices agreed by the Council in accordance with this clause must be formalised in accordance with the Framework Agreement Variation Procedure. For the avoidance of doubt, it shall be open to the Council to agree an increase to the Framework Prices applicable to a specific Lot and the Council shall be under no obligation to apply an equivalent uplift to any or all other Lots.
The prices are detailed in Rate cards included within the framework agreement.
Lots and requirements (3)Procurement structure
3 lots · all with a published value · same evaluation weights on every lotEvery one of these 3 lots carries the same published figure, £15,000,000: it is the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each lot's own budget, and no share per lot is published. The cards below say ceiling above rather than repeat it.
Lot #1Face to face and Telephone/Video Interpreting Services for Spoken LanguageAwardedRenewalceiling above
Spoken Face-to-Face and Telephone or Video Interpreting Services for Spoken Language
As described in the Stage 2 procurement documents.
Lot #2Face-to-Face and Video Interpreting Services for Non-spoken Languages (eg: BSL)Awardedceiling above
Face-to-Face and Video Interpreting Services for Non-spoken Languages (eg: BSL)
As detailed in the Stage 2 procurement documents.
Lot #3Translation, Transcription and Ancillary ServicesAwardedceiling above
Translation, Transcription and Ancillary Services
As described in the Stage 2 procurement documents
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 award criteria (2)
- Quality
- Price
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- “Translation and Interpreting Services Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract, and call-offs are awarded directly: getting appointed is the whole game.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use the vehicle
- SCC, WSCC, BH&CC , All D&BC's in the regions covered by the International Territorial Level (ITL) TLJ2 Maintained Schools in the regions covered by ITL TLJ2; All Health Authorities, National Health Service Trusts, Integrated Care Boards, social care organisations, CCG's and any other person(s) or body established or financed under the National Health Service Act 1977 as amended and future bodies associated with the delivery of healthcare, within East Sussex, Surrey, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex; Sussex Police Authority Surrey Police Authority East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service Surrey Fire and Rescue Service Ambulance Services SECAMB Voluntary and Community Organisations (including Third Sector Organisations) with a presence in East Sussex, Surrey, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex Housing Associations with a presence in East Sussex, Surrey, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex. Any combined mayoral authority or strategic authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 13 Mar 2025, 15:40 GMT
- Last source update
- 13 May 2026, 07:06 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 6 Nov 2025
- Authority reference
4783- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-020095- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04ecebFind a Tender
- How it runs
We are utilising a two stage Competitive Flexible Procedure process. At Stage 1, a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) will be used to assess and down select bidders to be taken forwards to Stage 2 the Invitation to Tender.
How it was run
Official notice- Requests to participate (first stage)
- 12 Jun 2025, 12:00 BST
- Appointment period ends
- 12 Jun 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Supplier levy on call-offs (max %)
call-off levy · 2% of call-off value · For Shortlisted Bidders that are successfully appointed to the Framework, if the total annual spend from all Participating Authorities is £5,000 or more (excluding VAT), those Shortlisted Bidders will be required to pay a Framework Fee (calculated as 2% of the total annual spend) to the Council to support and facilitate the administration of the Framework. The Framework Fee will be collected annually in arrears.
Documents to be submitted should be uploaded using the Supplier Network e-Sourcing Portal
supplierlive.proactisp2p.com/Account/Login ↗
Search for RFX1000903
Timeline
13 Mar 2025 → 13 May 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published13 Mar 2025, 15:40 GMT
- Market engagement30 Apr 2025, 23:59 BST
A Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) event to take place virtually via the Microsoft 'Teams' App with ESCC hosting.
DATE: Wednesday 9th April 2025
TIME: 10.00 until 12.00
If your organisation wishes to attend this event then please email [email protected] by: 12.00 on Tuesday 8th April 2025.
Please state in the subject line of your request email:
"T & I Framework"
Planned Agenda
- Introduction to the County Council
- The Current Framework
- The Proposed Framework
- Our Questions for Suppliers
- Procurement Process
- Supplier Questions
- Next Steps
- Next notice expected6 May 2025, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published9 May 2025, 14:12 BST
- Admission / appointment period endsperiod end, not a bid countdown12 Jun 2025, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by344 days ago6 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent338 days ago13 Nov 2025
- Standstill ends325 days ago25 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts289 days ago1 Jan 2026
- Latest notice published156 days ago13 May 2026, 07:06 BST
Notice history
12 events · 7 releases on Find a Tender · since 13 Mar 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published13 Mar 2025, 15:40 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published13 Mar 2025, 16:09 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published13 Mar 2025, 16:15 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published9 May 2025, 14:12 BSTUK4
- Published value published: £15,000,0009 May 2025, 14:12 BST
- Status changed to active9 May 2025, 14:12 BST
- Procurement method changed9 May 2025, 14:12 BST
- Contract award notice published14 Nov 2025, 10:42 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete14 Nov 2025, 10:42 GMT
- Contract signature expected1 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published30 Jan 2026, 10:01 GMTUK7
- Contract details notice published13 May 2026, 07:06 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (7)
- 2025-05: 1 release · 9 May 2025
- 2025-03: 3 releases · 13 Mar 2025, 13 Mar 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast£15,000,000 is the framework's published maximum, restated by the publisher on 3 award rows. It is one ceiling, not 3 separate sums, and no share per lot is published; those rows read “ceiling above”.
Contracts
All 3 of these contracts carry the same published figure, £15,000,000, the framework's maximum for the whole notice, not each contract's own value. They are not eleven separate sums.
Contract 1 · AA Global Language Services LimitedSME, Absolute Interpreting and Translations LtdSME, Language Empire LimitedSME, THEBIGWORD INTERPRETING SERVICES LIMITED, VANDU LANGUAGESSME
- Signed
- 1 Jan 2026
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Jan 2026 – 31 Dec 2029
- Status
- active
Contract 2 · Action Deafness, Royal Association for Deaf peopleSMEVCSE, SIGN SOLUTIONS (SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING AGENCY) LTDSME, Supreme Linguistic Services T/A Premium Linguistic Services LimitedSME, THEBIGWORD INTERPRETING SERVICES LIMITED
- Signed
- 1 Jan 2026
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Jan 2026 – 31 Dec 2029
- Status
- active
Contract 3 · DA Languages Limited, THEBIGWORD INTERPRETING SERVICES LIMITED, VANDU LANGUAGESSME
- Signed
- 1 Jan 2026
- Value
- ceiling above
- Period
- 1 Jan 2026 – 31 Dec 2029
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Face to face and Telephone/Video Interpreting Services for Spoken Language | 9final-stage tenders | 8 | 0 | — |
| 2 · Face-to-Face and Video Interpreting Services for Non-spoken Languages (eg: BSL) | 7final-stage tenders | 6 | 1 | — |
| 3 · Translation, Transcription and Ancillary Services | 6final-stage tenders | 5 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonAA GLOBAL LANGUAGE SERVICES LIMITEDSME · Yorkshire and the Humber · 1, 3
- wonTHEBIGWORD INTERPRETING SERVICES LIMITED · Yorkshire and the Humber · all lots
- wonLANGUAGE EMPIRE LIMITEDSME · North West England · all lots
- wonABSOLUTE INTERPRETING & TRANSLATIONS LIMITEDSME · West Midlands · 1
- wonVANDU LANGUAGESSME · South East England · 1, 3
- wonSIGN SOLUTIONS (SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING AGENCY) LTDSME · West Midlands · 2
- wonACTION DEAFNESSSME · East Midlands · 2
- wonSUPREME LINGUISTIC SERVICES LTDSME · West Midlands · 2, 1
- wonTHE ROYAL ASSOCIATION FOR DEAF PEOPLESMEVCSE · Greater London · 2
- wonD A LANGUAGES LIMITEDSME · North West England · 3, 1
- did not winMIGRANT HELP TRADING LIMITED trading as CLEAR VOICESME · Greater London · 1
- did not winSUSSEX INTERPRETING SERVICESSME · South East England · 1
- did not winLANGUAGESERVICESUK LIMITEDSME · South West England · 2
- did not winTHE LANGUAGE ROOM LIMITEDSME · Scotland · 3
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
14 commercial parties on the notice · 10 awarded- AA GLOBAL LANGUAGE SERVICES LIMITEDFramework contractor
- ABSOLUTE INTERPRETING & TRANSLATIONS LIMITEDFramework contractor
- ACTION DEAFNESSFramework contractor
- D A LANGUAGES LIMITEDFramework contractor
- LANGUAGE EMPIRE LIMITEDFramework contractor
- LANGUAGESERVICESUK LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- MIGRANT HELP TRADING LIMITED trading as CLEAR VOICEBidder / tenderer
- SIGN SOLUTIONS (SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING AGENCY) LTDFramework contractor
- SUPREME LINGUISTIC SERVICES LTDFramework contractor
- SUSSEX INTERPRETING SERVICESBidder / tenderer
Show 4 more suppliers
- THE LANGUAGE ROOM LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- THE ROYAL ASSOCIATION FOR DEAF PEOPLEFramework contractor
- THEBIGWORD INTERPRETING SERVICES LIMITEDFramework contractor
- VANDU LANGUAGESFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications (16)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
Show 5 more notices
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender