Language Services Framework 2027

Buyer
Bristol City Council
Value
£2,300,000
Closes
20 November 2026
Where
Bristol, the North East
Type
Sets up a framework (suppliers apply to join)

In plain English

Bristol City Council is setting up a framework, which is a pre-approved list of suppliers it can call on later, for translation and interpreting services. It covers face-to-face, telephone, video, written translation, and British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting and recorded translation, with an estimated total value of £2,300,000 across the framework's six lots.

What the buyer wants

• Join the framework by showing you can deliver one or more of the six lots (face-to-face, telephone, video, written translation, BSL interpreting, BSL recorded translation) to the council's stated standards. • Provide a pool of qualified, vetted interpreters and translators who can be booked quickly, with clear pricing and consistent service quality. • Accept the council's contract terms, which set out accountability, transparency and performance expectations for each lot you join.

Lots

Likely requirements

Our reading of the notice. Always check the tender documents.

Being unable to evidence qualified, registered interpreters (particularly NRCPD-registered BSL interpreters) and DBS checks, or lacking the capacity to provide fast, reliable telephone and video cover, would likely rule out most small businesses.

How to bid

This is a framework: the buyer picks a set of suppliers now and awards work to them over several years. If you are not on it when it is awarded, you usually cannot win work from it until it is re-tendered, so this is the window to bid.

How framework contracts work

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