IT services supplier Capita is to take over control of IT services
at Croydon Council from its rival ITnet, in a private finance
initiative contract worth £100m over seven years.
Capita won the contract despite the likelihood that it will be
ejected as the supplier of housing benefit systems in nearby
Lambeth, where councillors are deeply unhappy with the
service.
Croydon Council said it had taken account of events in Lambeth but
decided that the problems stemmed from a low-cost contract.
"Lambeth's contract was financially driven," said Jan Willis,
director of finance and IT at Croydon Council. "In this case, we
are not transferring a failing service. We have a successful
operation."
She said Croydon has had no significant problems with ITnet but "we
need to invest heavily in IT". As the ITnet contract approached its
natural expiry, Croydon went to a competitive tender. ITnet
submitted a bid, but it did not reach the shortlist.
Under the new contract, Capita will provide all the IT systems that
interface with the public except those related to housing benefits
and council tax, which will continue to be handled by services
supplier CSL.
Anyone who rings the council, from registering a complaint to
asking for details of councillors, will in future be answered by a
Capita employee. The time taken to answer phones will be governed
by service level agreements which can incur penalties if broken.
Tony Collins
tony.collins@rbi.co.uk