South Tyneside Council has signed a 10-year outsourcing deal with BT for the provision of back-office IT services.

The contract, estimated to be worth around £300m, covers the human resources, procurement and financial services functions of the authority. It is thought that the deal could lead to provision of similar services to other councils across the UK in the future.

As a result of the contact 450 South Tyneside Council employees will move to the new BT local government services division.