Keywords: Essex, shared services, Capita, council,

Essex councils opt for £8m shared services contract with Capita

Susie West | News | 17 November 2011

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Four Essex councils have signed a shared service agreement with Capita which they claim will save £7m over the next five years, and cut their ICT costs by more than 45%.

Braintree, Castle Point, Colchester and Rochford councils will pay the company £8m to provide shared ICT support services. These will include a mix of service, asset, security and network infrastructure management, desktop support, server and data storage and consultancy.

Chris Siddall, cabinet member for efficiency and resources at Braintree council, said: "We believe our innovative approach will be keenly studied by other UK councils, all of whom are under intense pressure to make substantial cost savings whilst maintaining vital services to local people."

The councils successfully bid for £96,000 from Improvement East, a partnership of authorities in the east of England which provides support for improvement projects, to pay for the specialist legal and IT advice required to set up the joint deal.

For more information:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/government-computing-network/2011/nov/16/braintree-castle-point-colchester-rochford-shared-it