Cotswold District Council has signed a five-year ITC support contract with Steria. The contract, worth £2m, aims to improve the effectiveness and overall efficiency of the ICT support services for the council's 500 staff.

Under the terms of the contract, Steria will provide a wide range of ICT support services, ranging from desktop and server support to application development and business continuity. The partnership aims to reduce the council's overall ICT spend by 15% helping to free up funds for investment in front line services.

Mike Brown, Cotswold District Council's ICT Services Manager says "Steria has a strong pedigree in handling local government and public sector transformation initiatives. Its experience will prove invaluable to us as we implement a service improvement roadmap to continually identify new ways to exploit ICT for business benefit. This will ensure that ICT is providing effective support for the council and that we in turn deliver the best possible services to our customers."

The programme will be deployed by a combination of three onsite service delivery staff at the council's main offices in Cirencester, supported by other Steria consultants as required.