Appendix 2
Specification
General specifications
1. Term
1.1. The contract is to begin on 4 January 2012 and shall expire automatically
on 3 January 2014.
1.2. There shall be an option to extend for a further twelve months to 3
January 2015 and then a further option to extend to 3 January 2016.
2. Number of companies
2.1. Companies shall to be allowed to tender for all or part of the contract on
an equal basis.
2.2. The contract may be awarded to one or more companies.
3. Availability
2.1. The services shall be available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to
include bank holidays.
2.2. For the purpose of the contract the office hours are: 0830 to 1730,
Monday to Friday. Out of office hours are at any other time, between 1731
and 0829 Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday.
2.3. An emergency service shall be available at all times.
3. Booking Procedures
3.1. Bookings shall be accepted using the Walsall Council electronic form 24
hours a day and 7 days per week.
3.2. Responses to these bookings shall be within 24 hours on Monday to
Friday
.
They shall be before the end of the next working day for bookings made on
Bank Holidays and at weekends
.
3.3. In an emergency the Contractor shall accept referrals/ bookings through
written correspondence email, videophone, fax, telephone and face to face
Contact
.
4. Payments
4.1. The contractor shall be capable of using the council P-card or
Spendvision systems of invoicing.
5. Cancellation policy
5.1. Notification by the Authority less than 24 hours before job is due to take
place shall incur full payment.
5.2. Notification by the Authority more than 24 hours before job is due to take
place shall incur no payment.
6. Confidentiality
6.1. The Contractor shall have a clear written policy and procedure regarding
confidentiality
6.2. All information resulting from the transcription work shall remain the
property of the Authority and shall not be disclosed to any third party unless
instructed to do so by the Authority contact.
7. Monitoring and Evaluation of the Services
7.1. Daily or upon request of the Authorities Officer or Commissioning
Manager the Contractor shall provide full information within 24 hours of the
referral.
7.2. Monthly or upon request of the Authorities Officer or Commissioning
Manager the Contractor shall provide the agreed key performance indicators.
8. Criminal Records Bureau Check
8.1. The Contractor shall ensure that a CRB check has been undertaken on
all permanent and temporary staff that come into contact with customers and
Customers
.
8.2. In respect of face to face interpretation, services provided by language
service professionals and telephone interpreting / visual linking an Enhanced
CRB check is required.
8.3. In respect of translation and transcription a Standard CRB check is
required
9. Complaints and Complements
9.1. The Contractor shall have a clear and written procedure to enable
Customers to make complaints relating to the Service provided to them. The
Customer shall in the first instance direct their complaint through the
Authorities Officer contact at the Directorate that supplied the information
10. Use of Subcontractors
10.1. The Contractor shall advise the Authority in each instance when they
intend to subcontract the services provided.
10.2. Should the Contractor subcontract the provision of the service they shall
subcontract it to a maximum of two tiers of subcontractor
.
10.3. Should further subcontracting be required they shall in the first instance
contact the Authority in order to explain the reason why this is required and
obtain the instruction to proceed or otherwise.
11. Training
11.1. Interpreting, translation and transcription workers shall be required to
participate in an induction programme for working with Walsall Council.
11.2. Interpreting, translation and transcription workers are encouraged to
take part in relevant council training to become familiar with procedures
.Interpreting, translation and transcription (ITT) specifications
The Contractor shall provide ITT Services where information produced by the
Authority or a customer which is to be used by the Authority is required in the
following.
1. Currently the Authority Services provides Interpreting, translation and
transcription in the following situations:
1.1.
For individuals that involve:
• rights and responsibilities of citizenship and democratic processes,
register to vote or take part in local consultations.
• full assessment of the person’s needs; medical, financial or legal
• legal consequence or loss of rights if not acted upon; social benefits,
health care, social care, supported housing.
• personal or confidential nature and clear understanding and consent
are required
• the person has expressed for a particular language or format in a prior
communication
• understanding local rules and requirements; rubbish disposal, parking
restrictions and common courtesies.
1.2.
For all
• where it is a statutory responsibility to provide the information or
access to services to all
• responses; involvement and consultation documents
• supporting local community groups or intermediaries working directly
with new migrants or non-English speaking communities.
• enabling people to function effectively as citizens in society and be
able to get along with others
1.3. ITT is most likely to be used for the following services
• Assessments
• Advocacy
• Complaints
• Criminal Investigations
• Advice
• Meetings
• Information
• Training
• Consultation
• First Contact
2.
The Interpreting, translation and transcription services to be
provided are:
• Face to face interpreting in spoken community languages
• Telephone interpreting in spoken community languages
• British Sign Language / English interpreting
• Language Service Professionals
o lipspeaking,
o speech to text reporting
o notetaking (electronic and manual)
o deafblind interpretation
• Transcription
o Braille
o Moon
• Audio on cassette and CD
Remote interpreting via videophone and or computer is to be researched and
to be added as soon as possible.
Face to face interpretation in spoken community languages
1. Qualifications and experience
• National Register in Public Services for Interpreters or
• National Society of Interpreters –full /interim / rare language or
• Register of Chartered Linguists Institute of Translating and Interpreting –
Qualified
Interpreters shall be experienced and familiar with the terminology for each
job, for example; social care, child protection, health, legal, police and criminal
evidence and other local government subjects
2. Gender
The Contractor shall offer the choice of either male or female interpreters.
3. Response time
• The Contractor shall deliver the service within 24 hours of the request being
made.
• In an emergency situation the service shall be delivered within one hour of
the request being made.
• If the work is unable to be delivered within the required time the Contractor
shall advise the Authorities Officer’s contact of the reason why the resource is
unable to meet the demand
4 . Time keeping
• The interpreter to arrive 15 minutes before the booked time of the job.
• Interpreters should not be late
• The interpreter must notify the council officer direct if they going to be late for
whatever reason
• If the interpreter does not arrive for the job without exceptional reason then
the full job cost is to be reimbursed (a replacement job at no cost is
acceptable)
• If the interpreter is late by more than 15 minutes after job time without
exceptional reason then 50% of job payment to be reimbursed to Council (a
50% discount on a replacement job is acceptable)
5. Pricing structure
• Pricing is based upon one standard flat rate for any language that needs to
be interpreted
• Minimum charge to be 1 hour with chargeable increments to be 15 minutes
• No charge for local travelling time within a 10 mile radius of the venue of the
Job
Telephone Interpreting
1. Qualifications and Experience
• National Register in Public Services for Interpreters or
• National Society of Interpreters –full /interim / rare language or
• Register of Chartered Linguists Institute of Translating and Interpreting –
Qualified Interpreters shall be experienced and familiar with the terminology
for each job, for example; social care, child protection, health, legal, police
and criminal evidence and other local government subjects
2. Gender
The Contractor shall offer the choice of either male or female interpreters for
each job.
3. Response time
The Contractor shall deliver the service within a reasonable time of the
request being made.
If the work is unable to be delivered within the required time the Contractor
shall advise the Authorities Officer’s contact of the reason why the resource is
unable to meet the demand
4. Pricing structure
• Pricing is based upon one standard flat rate for any language that needs to
be interpreted
• Minimum charge to be 5 minutes hour with chargeable increments to be 5
minutes
British Sign Language / English
1. Qualifications and experience
• Full member of the Independent Registration Panel or Association of Sign
Language Interpreters.
• Only in social or informal situations or on specific request:
o Registered by the Independent Registration Panel T1/JT1
o Licensed or Associate member of the Association of Sign Language
Interpreters
Interpreters shall be experienced and familiar with the terminology for each
job, for example; social care, child protection, health, legal, police and criminal
evidence and other local government subjects.
2. Gender
The Contractor shall offer the choice of either male or female interpreters for
each job.
3. Response time
• The Contractor shall deliver the service within 5 working of the request being
made.
• In an emergency situation the service shall be delivered within 2 hours of the
request being made
• If the work is unable to be delivered within the required time the Contractor
shall advise the Authorities Officer’s contact of the reason why the resource is
unable to meet the demand
4. Time keeping
• The interpreter to arrive 15 minutes before the booked time of the job.
• Interpreters should not be late
• The interpreter must notify the council officer direct if they going to be late for
whatever reason
• If the interpreter does not arrive for the job without exceptional reason then
the full job cost is to be reimbursed (a replacement job at no cost is
acceptable)
• If the interpreter is late by more than 15 minutes after job time without
exceptional reason then 50% of job payment to be reimbursed to Council (a
50% discount on a replacement job is acceptable)
5. Pricing Structure
• Pricing is based upon one standard flat rate
• Minimum charge to be 2 hours with chargeable increments to be 30 minutes
• No charge for local travelling time within a 10 mile radius of the venue of the
job
Language Service Professionals
1. Qualifications and experience
• Lip speakers shall be a Member of the Register of Level 3 Lipspeakers
• Speech to Text Reporters shall be a Member of the Register of Speech to
Text Reporters
• Note takers, manual and electronic, shall be a Member of the Register of
Level 3 Notetakers (Manual) and (Electronic).
• Deaf blind Interpreters (Manual) shall be a Member of the Register of
Language Service Professionals Deafblind Manual
All LSPs shall be experienced and familiar with the terminology for each job,
for example; social care, child protection, health, legal, police and criminal
evidence and other local government subjects.
2. Gender
The Contractor shall, where possible, offer the choice of either male or female
interpreters for each job.
3. Response time
• The Contractor shall deliver the service within 5 working of the request being
made.
• In an emergency situation the service shall be delivered within 2 hours of the
request being made
• If the work is unable to be delivered within the required time the Contractor
shall advise the Authorities Officer’s contact of the reason why the resource
is unable to meet the demand
4. Time keeping
• The interpreter to arrive 15 minutes before the booked time of the job.
• Interpreters should not be late
• The interpreter must notify the council officer direct if they going to be late for
whatever reason
• If the interpreter does not arrive for the job without exceptional reason then
the full job cost is to be reimbursed (a replacement job at no cost is
acceptable)
• If the interpreter is late by more than 15 minutes after job time without
exceptional reason then 50% of job payment to be reimbursed to Council (a
50% discount on a replacement job is acceptable)
5. Pricing Structure
• Pricing is based upon one standard flat rate for all Language Service
Professionals
• Minimum charge to be 2 hours with chargeable increments to be 30 minutes
• No charge for local travelling time within a 10 mile radius of the venue of the
job
Translation
1. Qualifications and experience
• National Register in Public Services for Interpreters or
• National Society of Interpreters –full /interim / rare language or
• Register of Chartered Linguists Institute of Translating and Interpreting –
Qualified
Translation work shall be provided in accordance with the National Standards
for Interpreting and Transcription Information
Translators shall be experienced and familiar with the terminology for each
job, for example; social care, child protection, health, legal, police and criminal
evidence, and other local government subjects
2. Proof Reading
The Contractor shall ensure translation work is proof read and there is a
process in place to ensure verification.
3. Response time
The Contractor shall deliver the service as follows:
• 2 days for correspondence
• 5 days for public information
If the work is unable to be delivered within the required time the Contractor
shall advise the Authorities Officer’s contact of the reason why the resource is
unable to meet the demand
If the translation is not delivered on time and without exceptional reason then
the full job cost is to be reimbursed (a replacement job at no cost is
acceptable)
4. Price Structure
• Pricing is based upon one standard flat rate for all languages
• Minimum charge to be for 100 words with 100 word increments up to 500,
then every 500 words.
Transcription
1. Qualifications and experience
• National Register in Public Services for Interpreters or
• National Society of Interpreters –full /interim / rare language or
• Register of Chartered Linguists Institute of Translating and Interpreting –
Qualified
Translation work shall be provided in accordance with the National Standards
for Interpreting and Transcription Information
Translators shall be experienced and familiar with the terminology for each
job, for example; social care, child protection, health, legal, police and criminal
evidence and other local government subjects
2. Proof reading
The Contractor shall ensure translation work is proof read and there is a
process in place to ensure verification.
3. Response time
The Contractor shall deliver the service within 3 working days of the request.
If the work is unable to be delivered within the required time the Contractor
shall advise the Authorities Officer’s contact of the reason why the resource is
unable to meet the demand.
If the transcription is not delivered on time and without exceptional reason
then the full job cost is to be reimbursed (a replacement job at no cost is
acceptable)
4. Pricing Structure
• Pricing is based upon
• Braille and Moon, the minimum charge to be for 100 words with increments
at
100 words up to 500, and then every 500 words
• Audio the minimum charge is for 500 words with increments at 500 words.