November 23, 2020 10.36 am This story is over 40 months old

Serco seeks to cut Lincolnshire staff for India outsourcing

Outsourcing firm will outsource to India
County councillors and NHS bosses will sit on the new partnership | Photo: Daniel Jaines

Outsourcing firm Serco, who looks after Lincolnshire County Council’s IT and finance system, is set to cut up to ten staff from its local team.

It is understood elements of the company’s 38-strong Lincolnshire Government Partnership team, which oversees IT infrastructure and support to users, are being outsourced to Microland, based in India.

A company spokesperson said: “Serco delivers a range of services for Lincolnshire County Council including customer services, finance, HR, payroll and IT, employing 350 people.

“We have started a consultation in process with the IT infrastructure function which is likely to have an impact on less than ten roles, when concluded.”

The county council’s partnership with Serco is worth £70 million.

However, the contract, which was set to end in 2020, was beset by poor performance and difficulties in configuring software.

The authority fined Serco more than £2 million for poor performance.

Despite this, in October 2018 the council voted to extend the contract for the provision of IT, payroll, HR, customer services, exchequer services and adult care finance until the end of March 2022.

In December 2019, it also agreed another £1.8 million spend to redesign its IT system. The investment saw it adopt systems from, and become part-owner of, Hoople Limited.

Hoople oversees services including human resources, payroll and finance for a number of public sector shareholders.

This was after a number of “significant” issues with the council’s current system – which began as Agresso and is now called Business World.

James Drury, executive director of commercial at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Serco are currently reviewing how they deliver certain elements of the IT services provided to the council.

“Their aim is to create an improved service that better supports new, more flexible ways of working and provides better value for money.

“We understand that Serco have just commenced a staff consultation as part of this process.”