Tender for a concession agreement to provide Secure English Language Testing services

Tender description

The Home Office seeks to award concession Agreements for operators to become approved providers in the UK (Lot 1) and the Rest of the World (Lot 2) ("ROW") of a Secure English Language Test (SELT), aligned to the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). These tests will be used to prove English language abilities for UK visa or citizenship applications that require an applicant to prove their knowledge of English. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prove-your-english-language-abilities-with-a-secure-english-language-test-selt Lot 1: UK Lot The Secretary of State for the Home Department, acting through the Home Office's UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), is the Authority which seeks to award concession Agreements for operators to become approved providers in the UK (Lot 1) of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) aligned to the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Home Office immigration policy establishes an English language requirement that customers may be required to evidence for UK visa or citizenship applications. The SELT assesses a customer's competency in speaking and listening and dependent on the route of entry, reading and writing English, between levels A1 to C1 of the CERF. Tests are taken under UKVI-prescribed secure conditions where secure relates to: 1. Processes to verify the identity of the customer; 2. Ensuring that it is only the validated customer who takes the test and does so under exam conditions with an appropriately trained invigilator to eliminate the ability to cheat; 3. Ensuring results are not released until the provider has completed additional verification checks to ensure that collusion and fraud have not taken place; and 4. Ongoing audits, both internal and via external independent auditors, of the physical test points, processes and delivery systems in order to ensure that the security and integrity protocols are being strictly adhered to. Approximately 133,000 2-facet (speaking and listening) and 30,000 4-facet (reading, writing, speaking and listening) tests were taken in the UK in the period April 2022 to March 2023 inclusive. The Authority plans to award a maximum of two UK concession Agreements but reserves the right to award to fewer. Additional information on the service can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prove-your-english-language-abilities-with-a-secure-english-language-test-selt Lot 2: Rest of the World ("ROW") The Secretary of State for the Home Department, acting through the Home Office's UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), is the Authority which seeks to award concession Agreements for operators to become approved providers in the Rest of the World excluding the UK (Lot 2) of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) aligned to the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Home Office immigration policy establishes an English language requirement that customers may be required to evidence for UK visa or citizenship applications. The SELT assesses a customer's competency in speaking and listening and dependent on the route of entry, reading and writing English, between levels A1 to C1 of the CERF. Tests are taken under UKVI-prescribed secure conditions where secure relates to: 1. Processes to verify the identity of the customer; 2. Ensuring that it is only the validated customer who takes the test and does so under exam conditions with an appropriately trained invigilator to eliminate the ability to cheat; 3. Ensuring results are not released until the provider has completed additional verification checks to ensure that collusion and fraud have not taken place; and 4. Ongoing audits, both internal and via external independent auditors, of the physical test points, processes and delivery systems in order to ensure that the security and integrity protocols are being strictly adhered to. Approximately 58,000 2-facet (speaking and listening) and 495,000 4-facet (reading, writing, speaking and listening) tests were taken across 143 countries (excluding the UK) in the period April 2022 to March 2023 inclusive. For this tender the requirement spans 144 countries. Only the top 90% by volume for the period April 2022 to March 2023 are sown in the NUTS code field. The Authority plans to award a maximum of four ROW concession Agreements but reserves the right to award to fewer. Additional information on the service can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prove-your-english-language-abilities-with-a-secure-english-language-test-selt