Birmingham seeks a £70m partner

Birmingham City Council is looking for a new IT partner in a £70m per year deal.

The authority wants a supplier to help consolidate five separate technology contracts, worth £30m a year, which expire in 2004 and the council is exploring a partnership arrangement as a better solution.

Birmingham is trying to change the way it delivers public services, embarking on a plan to deliver local services the way local people want them, says strategic director of resources Sarah Wood.

'Historically we have contracted separately for different elements of the IT infrastructure but we think it is worth exploring to see whether there is partnership arrangement that can bring together a combination of our skills and our partners, to enable services to be delivered better,' she said.

The Birmingham area will be split into eleven smaller units so issues such as library opening times, bin collection arrangements and street sweeping can be organised according to local concerns.

'To do that we need a pile of management information and we need the IT infrastructure and applications to allow that,' said Wood.

The contract winner will be expected to maintain and upgrade existing systems as well as implement of new IT as required. The council expects it will need a replacement revenues and benefits system as part of the deal.

At this stage the contracting process is as open as possible, because Birmingham wants to hear the private sector's views on how best to deliver their agenda, says Wood.

Formal tendering will start towards the end of the summer, with the contract due to be signed in summer 2004 followed by implementation towards the end of the year. The deal is worth up to £70m a year, says Wood.