March 4, 2014 4.38 pm This story is over 119 months old

Serco awarded £71m Lincolnshire County Council contract

£71m deal: Serco has been officially awarded the contract to run several Lincolnshire County Council services for the next five years.

Serco has been officially awarded the contract to run several Lincolnshire County Council services for the next five years.

Last month, Serco was conditionally awarded a £71 million contract to deliver the council’s IT, finance and HR services, as well as taking over the council’s customer service centre.

The firm would take over from Mouchel in 2015 and deliver around £14 million savings for the council over the five-year life time of the contract.

Around 200 staff from the County Council and another 200 from Mouchel would be transferred to Serco in the deal, and 140 more jobs may be created.

However, the contract could not be officially awarded until councillors approved the changes at its Executive Meeting on March 4.

The Serco deal has a one-year ‘transfer and transformation’ period from March 2014, and then a further five years of service. There is an option to extend by two years, and then another two.

The £14 million savings estimated would be obtained through technology and streamlining processes.

Councillor Martin Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, explained: “Serco said that it would continue to employ the same number of staff within Lincolnshire, and that there is even the potential to create an additional 140 local jobs over the five-year contract.”

Jonathan Prew, Managing Director of Serco’s Public Sector BPO business, said: “We are delighted to have now been confirmed as the Council’s strategic partner to provide a range of support and customer services and are looking forward to working closely with Lincolnshire County Council.”