Computer Business Review reported back in March that Capita had been named as the preferred bidder for the contract after rival BT Group dropped its bid. Capita will take over the management of customer services, IT, property, and the administration of HR, payroll, revenues and benefits, and procurement.
Some 650 council employees are expected to transfer to Capita when the contract begins on October 1. Workers had previously staged industrial action in protest over the procurement process earlier this year, with concerns that there was only a single supplier on the final shortlist.
Capita has won a number of large deals with UK local councils in the last two years that combine IT and back-office services, including a 243m-pound ($481m) award with Swindon Borough Council in February and a 475m-pound ($941m) win with Birmingham City Council in March 2006, which has since been extended.
