Burnley Awards 10-Year Contract To Council Services Provider

Burnley Borough Council is set to award a ten-year contract to business services process company Liberata to manage a number of essential local authority services.  

The deal is set to provide a number of benefits to the local government body, including 19% (£8m) savings on transferred services over the lifetime of the contract. 

The local authority is expecting a £4.9m inward investment in IT, a service hub, innovation in the way services are delivered and support for community projects. 

The Liberata/Burnley partnership will also bring over 100 high quality jobs to the area during the first five years of the contract.  

"The council needs to continue to provide the best possible services to residents, in spite of major reductions to our funding," Helen Seechurn, the local authority's director of resources, told 24N. 

"We also want to press on with our ambitious work to build Burnley's prosperity, following on from being named the 'most enterprising area' in Britain a couple of years ago," she added.  

Supporting The Change Programme 

The council is currently in the midst of a Change Programme, which aims to strengthen its position financially and deliver significant cost savings without reducing the quality of services delivered to residents.  

Under the new contract, Liberata will take charge of Burnley's Customers Services, IT Services, Revenues, Benefits and Debt Management, Payroll and HR Systems, Asset and Management Facilities Services and Environmental and Health Services departments.  

"Liberata's proposal scored most highly from a range of proposals we received through a systematic tendering process," explained Seechurn. 

"Our evaluation showed showed they had an approach to developing our business which was in line with our vision, and also offered a range of positive outcomes," she added.  

The contract is expected to go live in January 2016, when Liberata will begin delivering services to residents.  

The transition is set to go smoothly for both the residents receiving the services and the employees behind them.  

© 24N.biz