British Sign Language Services Framework – Scotland
Services are required to be delivered 24 Hours Per Day and 7 Days Per Week – Lot No: 1.
United Kingdom-Glasgow: Interpretation services
2020/S 096-230692
Contract notice
Services
Directive 2014/24/EU
Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)Name and addresses
Postal address: 1 Pacific Quay, 2nd Floor
Town: Glasgow
NUTS code: UKM
Postal code: G51 1DZ
Country: United Kingdom
Contact person: June Northcote
E-mail: june.northcote@scotland.pnn.police.uk
Telephone: +44 1786896109
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA19762
I.2)Information about joint procurement
I.3)Communication
I.4)Type of the contracting authority
I.5)Main activity
Section II: Object
II.1.1)Title:
Framework Agreement for the Provision of British Sign Language Services
II.1.2)Main CPV code
II.1.3)Type of contract
II.1.4)Short description:
The Scottish Police Authority intends to establish a framework agreement for the provision of services in relation to British Sign Language (BSL)on behalf of Police Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB), the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Services (COPFS), the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA), Social Security Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland.
This framework agreement shall be divided into two (2) individual Lots. Both lot 1 and 2 are further divided into geographical sublots — North, East and West. A maximum of three (3) contractors shall be appointed to each lot.
II.1.5)Estimated total value
II.1.6)Information about lots
II.2.1)Title:
Services are Required to be Delivered 24 Hours Per Day and 7 Days Per Week
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
SCOTLAND.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
The Scottish Police Authority wish to award a framework agreement for the provision of services in relation to British Sign Language (BSL)on behalf of Police Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB), the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Services (COPFS), the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA), Social Security Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland.
This framework agreement shall be divided into two (2) individual lots. Each individual lot is detailed in the table below. Both lot 1 and 2 are further divided into geographical sublots — North, East and West. A maximum of three (3) contractors shall be appointed to each lot.
The North area includes Highlands and Islands (Orkney Isles, Shetland Isles and Western Isles), North East (Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray) and Tayside (Dundee, Perth City, Perth and Kinross and Angus).
The East area includes Edinburgh City, The Lothians and Border, Fife and Forth Valley (Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire).
The West area includes Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Argyll and West Dunbartonshire (Inner Hebrides), Renfrewshire and Inverclyde and Dumfries and Galloway.
Lot 1 24/7 service coverage — services are required to be delivered 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
One option to extend up to 12 months.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.14)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.
II.2.1)Title:
Services are Required to be Delivered During Normal Office Hours, i.e. Monday to Friday 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
II.2.3)Place of performance
SCOTLAND.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
The Scottish Police Authority wish to award a framework agreement for the provision of services in relation to British Sign Language (BSL)on behalf of Police Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB), the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Services (COPFS), the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA), Social Security Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland.
This framework agreement shall be divided into two (2) individual lots. Each individual lot is detailed in the table below. Both lot 1 and 2 are further divided into geographical sublots — North, East and West. A maximum of three (3) contractors shall be appointed to each lot.
The North area includes Highlands and Islands (Orkney Isles, Shetland Isles and Western Isles), North East (Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray) and Tayside (Dundee, Perth City, Perth and Kinross and Angus).
The East area includes Edinburgh City, The Lothians and Border, Fife and Forth Valley (Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire).
The West area includes Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Argyll and West Dunbartonshire (Inner Hebrides), Renfrewshire and Inverclyde and Dumfries and Galloway.
Lot 2 Office Hours — services are required to be delivered during normal office hours, i.e. Monday to Friday 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
II.2.5)Award criteria
II.2.7)Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
One option to extend up to 12 months.
II.2.10)Information about variants
II.2.11)Information about options
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
II.2.14)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.
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1.1)Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
The provider or agency is required to be registered with the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI) or equivalent professional registers. (The SASLI is currently undergoing a transition to become the Scottish Register of Language Professionals with the Deaf Community (SRLPDC)).
Contractor personnel must be qualified and holding full registration status with either the National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD) or the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI). Contractor personnel must hold a valid protecting vulnerable groups (‘PVG’) certificate from Disclosure Scotland or other required disclosure levels as detailed within the framework agreement.
III.1.2)Economic and financial standing
It is a requirement of this framework that tenderers hold or can commit to obtain prior to the commence of any subsequently awarded
contract, indicated below:
ESPD Question 4B5 Insurances
Employers (Compulsory) liability insurance = GBP 10 million in respect of each claim without limit to the number of claims. Tenderers may be required to provide their current employers liability insurance certificate which should include name of the insurers, policy numbers, expiry date and limits for any one incident and annual aggregate caps and the excesses under the policies.
Public liability insurance = GBP 5 million in respect of each claim without limit to the number of claims. Tenderers may be required to provide a copy of their current public liability insurance certificate.
Professional indemnity insurance = GBP 5 million in respect of each claim without limit to the number of claims. Tenderers may be required to provide a copy of their current professional indemnity Insurance certificate.
ESPD Question 4B6 Financial Standing
The authority will access a credit safe report for a tenderers organisation and use the information contained within to assist with the assessment of the tenderer’s economic and financial standing. Tenders are asked to provide their company number within the ESPD to allow the authority to access a credit safe report.
Within such reports, the risk of business failure is expressed as a score of 30 or below (high risk of business failure). In the event that a company is determined to have a risk failure rating of 30 and below i.e. that the company is considered to have a high risk of business failure, the submission will not be considered further.
If you are successful in the award of this contract and your risk failure rating falls below 30 then the SPA reserve the right to remove you from this contract. It is the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that the information held by credit safe is accurate and up to date.
For the avoidance of doubt, the SPA will request a report from credit safe following the closing date for the receipt of the tenders to ensure that the most up to date information is used. Where you are not registered on credit safe e.g. charitable organisations or new start companies/sole traders with less than 3 years trading history, discretionary powers are available to the Director of Finance to consider abbreviated accounts along with bankers references, etc.
Tenderers should be aware that any outstanding County Court Judgements will have a detrimental effect on the rating held by Credit Safe and it is your responsibility to ensure that the information held by credit safe is accurate and up to date — failure to do so will result in rejection of your submission.
Important note: this requirement is not applicable to sole traders/charities. Sole traders/charities may be required to provide a bankers reference if successful.
III.1.3)Technical and professional ability
Tenderers are required to provide three examples of providing British Sign Language Services to the Scottish Criminal Justice System and/or Public Sector organisations in the last 3 years. The examples provided must be relating to comparable tenders in value and type to the contract being procured.
III.2.1)Information about a particular profession
Individual interpreter must be registered with either the National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD) or the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI). (The SASLI is currently undergoing a transition to become the Scottish Register of Language Professionals with the Deaf Community (SRLPDC)).
III.2.2)Contract performance conditions:
During the framework period, the contractor shall monitor and measure its performance against the following key performance indicators (KPIs).
Quality:
— fit for purpose products/service,
— contract outcome,
— continual improvement and innovation.
Cost:
— invoice accuracy,
— cost reduction initiatives.
Sustainability:
— sustainability (Sustainable Processes),
— community benefits.
Service:
— complaints,
— communication,
— management information.
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
IV.1.3)Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
IV.1.8)Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
IV.2.2)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
IV.2.4)Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted:
IV.2.6)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
IV.2.7)Conditions for opening of tenders
Glasgow.
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1)Information about recurrence
January 2024.
VI.2)Information about electronic workflows
VI.3)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.
Assessment of employment status
Tenderers may be asked to declare whether they intend to provide services through a personal service company (PSC). From April 2017, the responsibility to pay employment taxes shifts from the PSC to public sector bodies and the authority must be aware of any successful tenderer’s detailed employment status.
For further information on determining employment status the Government has published guidance on this IR35 Legislation.
Living Wage
Tenderers will be asked to confirm if they pay all employees as a minimum the Real Living Wage as published by the Living Wage Foundation for statistical information gathering purposes only.
Equality and Diversity
Tenderers will be required to comply with the statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
Declaration of Non-Involvement in Serious Organised Crime.
Tenderers must complete and sign a Declaration of Non-Involvement in Serious Organised Crime form.
Subcontractor detail
Tenderers will be required to provide details of the subcontractors they intend to use in their supply chain. Tenderers are required to complete this section as part of the ESPD.
Data protection
Tenderers must be aware of their obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR as set out in the Contract.
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The project code is 16169. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
(SC Ref:619579)
VI.4.1)Review body
Postal address: 1 Carton Place
Town: Glasgow
Postal code: G5 9DA
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 1414185247
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice: