UK Council on Deafness

British Sign Language Initiatives

The Government's position on BSL was set out by Andrew Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in a statement to the House of Commons on 18 March 2003. The statement recognises that BSL is a language in its own right regularly used by a significant number of people, and that for an estimated 70,000 Deaf people it is their preferred language for participation in everyday life.

The Department for Work and Pensions wishes to receive from organisations/consortia of organisations, with relevant experience and capacity, expressions of interest in bidding for work in two different priority areas. Work which will

• 1. contribute to establishing a GB wide framework to support the recruitment, training and deployment of BSL tutors, which will enhance their numbers, status and levels of qualification; or, work which will

• 2. promote access for BSL users through awareness raising amongst employers, amongst service providers and in the wider community.

This work should be either entirely new work or build on any existing and planned developments. It is not intended to replace such developments.

Funding will be over the current (2003/4) and next financial year (2004/5).

The closing date for expressions of interest is 5 December 2003.

A briefing pack will be despatched on request to interested organisations. This will say more about the Department and the tendering process; about the services required; it will explain how to submit a bid, and will set out the criteria against which bids received will be evaluated. It will also explain what information organisations will be required to supply about themselves to accompany bids.

An information day in BSL will be held for potential bidders in early December.

Completed bids must be submitted by 20 January 2004.

To find out more and / or register an interest and request a briefing pack, please contact Gary Newell by post, telephone, textphone, fax, or email as follows:

DWP Commercial & Estates Directorate, Ground Floor West, Trevelyan Square, Boar Lane, Leeds, LS1 6EB.

Telephone: 0113 232 7157

Textphone: 020 7712 2492

Fax: 0113 232 7200

Email: gary.newell@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

Department for Work and Pensions

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