On 6 May 2014, information about a national framework agreement was advertised by the Cabinet Office on the Offical Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Its aim is to bring together various framework agreements for interpreting and translation. The companies supplying interpreting services on this framework could be approached by any public service organisation to tender for a contract. This has the potential to include Access to Work contracts.
It’s our understanding that Lot 4 of this agreement includes Sign Language interpreting. Information and stakeholder days have been held and attended by NRPSI in order to protect their interpreters’ terms and conditions. Other spoken language associations were also present.
Open letter to NRCPD
Given the potential impact this may have your working terms and conditions as an interpreter or translator, NUBSLI has sent the letter below to the NRCPD to ask if they were aware that this was happening. However, in response, they have told us that this is something they have only recently been aware of.
In view of this, NUBSLI has contacted the Cabinet Office with our concerns and will update members in due course.
To NRCPD
Re: National Framework Contracts
Thank you for the information you provided us regarding the national framework announced on 6th May in the OJEU.
We would like to know whether any NRCPD or UKCOD representatives attended either the information day for suppliers or the stakeholder event.
Further to this, we would also like to ask why UKCOD or NRCPD did not pass any information regarding this national framework to either the professional interpreting associations ASLI and VLP or NRCPD registered interpreters.
Having approached some of our spoken language colleagues, we are aware that NRPSI attended both of the events held in order to protect their interpreters’ terms and conditions, and some spoken language associations were also present at the stakeholder event having built up a relationship with the Crown Procurement Service.
We will be alerting interpreters to this information and ensuring NUBSLI members are fully informed about any possible changes to their working terms and conditions and are given the opportunity to respond to this before it happens.
We will also be contacting the Cabinet Office, to express our concerns at not being included in these meetings or having any representation for BSL interpreters.