Welsh Tribunals Unit – Welsh Translation and Interpretation

Descriptions

The Welsh Tribunals Unit is the division of the Welsh Government that supports the operations of certain devolved Welsh Tribunals. A tribunal is a judicial body usually led by a legally qualified president or chairperson. It may also have legally- qualified, specialist and lay members.The Welsh Tribunals make legally binding decisions on disputes in specific areas of law devolved to Wales. Tribunals are funded by the government, but act independently of government.Tribunals currently administered by the Welsh Tribunals Unit include:•Agriculture Land Tribunal for Wales•Adjudication Panel for Wales•Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales•Residential Property Tribunal for Wales (comprising the Rent Assessment Panel, the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal and the Residential Property Tribunal)•Registered Nursery Inspectors Appeal Panels•Registered Schools Inspectors Appeal Panels•Special Educational Needs Tribunal for Wales•Welsh Language TribunalDescription of Goods / Services RequiredThe Welsh Tribunals treat the Welsh and English languages equally and participants in hearings may present written and oral evidence in either language. To facilitate this, the Welsh Tribunals Unit (on behalf of the Welsh Tribunals) intends to put in place a Framework Agreement for the provision of translation and interpretation services. The services required will include, but may not be limited to, the provision of:•Translation from English into Welsh (including proofreading of translated materials prior to publication).•Translation from Welsh into English.•Interpretation from Welsh into English.•Interpretation from English into Welsh.•Text checking of Welsh language material.Prospective tenderers must have the Court Interpreter into Welsh qualification at the point of tender and be capable of providing all of the services listed above. Please note that Tribunal hearings may take place in any part of Wales therefore tenderers must be willing and able to travel to provide interpretation if necessary. The Welsh Tribunals Unit may require tenderers to complete written translation tests as part of the tender process.The Welsh Tribunals Unit anticipates that its spend under any resulting Framework Agreement will be around £15,000 per annum. The length of the Framework Agreement will be two years initially with the possibility of extension. Prospective tenderers should note, however, that the Welsh Tribunals now include the newly established Welsh Language Tribunal. The work of this Tribunal is unprecedented and therefore difficult to quantify. Award of a place on this Framework Agreement is not a guarantee of work; the Framework will operate a call-off arrangement.The purpose of this Speculative Notice is to:•Alert the marketplace to a prospective contract opportunity for Welsh/English and English/Welsh translation and interpretation; and•Invite expressions of interest from suitable providers.The next stage of the process will be to invite quotations from interested parties through the Sell2Wales website. In the first instance prospective tenderers should respond to this Speculative Notice to register their interest in this opportunity. The form of response should be limited to the provision of a single point of contact – company name, contact name, job title, e-mail address and telephone number.Once we have gauged market interest, we will issue an invitation to tender.