Burnley Council awards Liberata 10-year IT outsourcing contract

Council 'acting in line with responsibility to provide the best services to residents, in spite of major reductions to our funding' says council leader Mark Townsend

Burnley Council has awarded a contract to "business process innovation company" Liberata in a deal designed to provide better services for the residents of the Lancashire town.

The contract is worth £34m over 10 years and aims to provide the council with almost 20 per cent savings on transferred services over the life of the contract, a figure representing around £8m. The project also provides for almost £5m of investment into IT, a new service hub for improving how council services are delivered and support for community projects.

The services that will be transferred to Liberata are: customer services and information technology; revenues, benefits and debt management; payroll and human resources systems; asset and facility management services; and environmental health and licensing.

Liberata was selected from a shortlist of candidates after being identified as "the most economically advantageous".

"We are delighted to be awarding this contract to Liberata, as they bring opportunities for growth into the borough at a time of government austerity measures," council leader Mark Townsend said of the deal, which forms part of the borough's ongoing "change programme".

"We are taking this step to respond positively to the challenges that we face. Burnley Council is acting in line with its responsibility to provide the best possible services to residents, in spite of major reductions to our funding," he continued.

Townsend described bringing in a "strategic partner" in the form of Liberata as a "new approach" that will "make the council look and feel radically different".

However, Townsend moved to reassure Burnley residents that services will be improved, not cut.

"Services will develop and change. We will be improving the ways people can access their services and do business with the council online. As this happens, we are absolutely committed to a smooth transition, both in the way that people receive their services, and for the 120 employees affected," he said.

"Liberata has the objective of retaining jobs, skills and talent in Burnley and is looking to grow jobs and services in our borough," Townsend continued.

"For many of the current council employees working in the services which form part of the contract, who will transfer with terms and conditions protected, this will mean new opportunities," he said.

The prospect of jobs being affected by Burnley's contract with Liberata has been met with concerns that council workers face an uncertain future.

"A report states that up to 40 per cent of the workforce could be cut over the course of the contract. This is not good news for our workers. Up to 40 per cent of jobs will be cut over the course of Liberata's contract," Peter Thorne, the Burnley branch secretary of Unison, told the Burnley Express.

"There's a lot of worry and concern among our members about their future," he added.

Nonetheless, Charlie Bruin, managing director of business process services at Liberata, said the company was looking forward to working with the council.

"We are delighted to have been selected by Burnley Council as a strategic partner to transform and run a range of council services. Key to enabling Burnley Council to meet its strategic objectives will be service innovation and digital transformation," he said.

"We have a demonstrable track record in enabling our clients to drive down costs, while at the same time improve both the citizen and employee experience of critical services," Bruin concluded.