Glasgow and Serco agree outsourcing deal

Glasgow City Council is teaming up with Serco in a £265m joint venture outsourcing deal to transform IT and property services in the city.

The city council and Serco have formed a private company to run the council's IT and property services in a deal expected to save the taxpayer £70m.

The 10-year partnership is expected to introduce five community hubs giving residents access to council services on their doorstep and cutting office space by 35 percent, provide flexible IT allowing hotdesking and home working, and rationalise facilities such as helpdesks.

No staff will be made redundant but 280 council staff will be seconded or transferred to the new business. Serco will run the company on a day-to-day basis with the city council setting the overall strategy for the company.

A spokesman for the city council said: "We would expect this company to provide the same services but better, it will make it easier to access services and deliver better value-for-money."

George Black, chief executive of the city council, said in a statement: "The partnership will bring real benefits to Glasgow's citizens by allowing us to build our front-line services around their needs."

The city council has formed a number of public and private partnerships to help it deliver better local services in the areas of building, culture and sport and community safety.

Duncan Mackison will be chief executive of the new company, having previously led the development of Serco projects in the police and civil resilience markets.