The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) intends to terminate its outsourcing contract with Shared Services Connected Ltd (SSCL), the joint venture between Sopra Steria (75 per cent) and the Cabinet Office (25 per cent) that has recently embarked on a new outsourcing partnership with the Metropolitan Police.

The contract between BIS and SSCL was established in 2013, shortly after SSCL was founded. The deal involved the government’s Next Generation Shared Services Strategy, a project that was intended to save taxpayers roughly £500 million through the use of shared services.

BIS now claims the contract is no longer viable, due to factors related to “cost, service and level of risk” changing since the beginning of the contract.

The Metropolitan Police’s deal with SSCL is expected to last at least 10 years and is valued at £216 million. SSCL will handle finance, procurement and HR on behalf of the police force – the Met hopes to achieve savings of £800 million by 2020.

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