County council signs five-year £70million services contract

Lincolnshire County Council has now signed a contract with Serco, the international services company, to provide a range of business process and contact centre services for the council, delivering savings of more than £14million over five years.

As the council’s strategic partner, Serco will be responsible for a wide range of customer-facing and back-office functions, including finance, HR and ICT, and the council’s customer services operations, which are currently delivered in-house.

Serco will start work on transforming services from April this year in preparation for the transition in April 2015.

The five-year deal is valued in excess of£70m. The contract also includes an agreement to add supplementary services as well as an option to extend for two further two-year periods.

Councillor Martin Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “We are pleased to have signed this important contract with Serco and look forward to them delivering a better deal with more savings, as well as creating additional local employment opportunities.”

Jonathan Prew, Managing Director of Serco’s Public Sector BPO business, said: “We’re very excited about this partnership and the benefits we believe it will deliver to the council and local communities across Lincolnshire.

”By introducing new technology and ways of working, we will help improve services and drive efficiencies for the council.

“However, the most important thing is a smooth transition with no drop in service for citizens and council staff.”