Hertfordshire County Council has signed an eight year, £200 million deal with services giant Serco for the provision of a range of front and back office services, including ICT – a deal it hopes will deliver as much as £25 million annual savings over the period.

The contract also covers a range of other business functions such as finance, payroll and HR, support services, customer contact centres and occupational health.

All resident-facing services will continue to be based locally using the council’s existing offices but over 400 staff are being transferred to Serco as part of the new service arrangements.

Hertfordshire said it expects the new system make it easier for people to access its services and will make a significant contribution to project budget savings. It will also provide a sound platform for local shared services.

"The new arrangement with Serco will allow us to make our services even more efficient and save taxpayers' money by sharing the contractual arrangements with district and borough councils and the police authority in Hertfordshire,” commented David Lloyd, executive member for resources.

“This means that they have the opportunity to buy into the contract should they wish to do so and share services such as IT, payroll, HR and call centres."

Source: http://www.publictechnology.net/sector/local-gov/herfordshire-200m-outsourcing-deal-serco