DC08 – 308 9 September 2008
BT strikes £184 million partnership with South Tyneside
Contract to provide services to local council promises jobs and major regeneration to area
BT today announced it has signed a £184m ten year Strategic Partnership with South Tyneside Council for the creation of jobs and delivery of a number of key Council services, including the development of a centre for shared services.
The contract will be delivered by a new business known as “BT South Tyneside”, a wholly owned BT subsidiary, bringing at least a peak of 1,250 jobs with BT becoming a catalyst for more.
The innovative partnership will unlock the future potential of the region by promoting a genuine knowledge economy through a combination of job creation and regeneration.
In addition, the partnership will deliver improved services to the citizens of South Tyneside and significant savings to the Council over the 10 years, expected to be in excess of £28m, due to improved efficiencies in areas such as ICT and self service.
Leader of South Tyneside Council, Councillor Iain Malcolm, said “The ultimate objective of this partnership is to set about the sustainable development of a knowledge economy in the area. This would not be possible without the full range of measures proposed by BT tailored to the local economic and demographic requirements of South Tyneside.”
In addition to being a catalyst for widespread employment, BT will also make a number of significant visible investments in the area, setting up its UK local government headquarters in a new 51,000 sqft business centre in South Shields In future, a number of services will be provided by BT for other regions across the UK from the South Tyneside site.
Chris Sayers, regional director, North East, BT, said: “BT continues to demonstrate its unparalleled credentials in the local government sector, working on transformational projects with visionary local authorities like South Tyneside. We are confident that the shared services model delivers enormous value, both in terms of boosting efficiency and improving public services. We look forward to deploying our experience in the North East region, working with South Tyneside Council on this ambitious and exciting partnering project.”
