Rotherham council bets big on BT

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has created a joint venture with BT with the aim of more efficiently providing public services over the next 12 years.

RBT Connect Ltd, standing for Rotherham Brought Together, was given the green light at a council meeting yesterday. BT will invest £30m in technology used by RBT Connect, though the council claims it will see £50m in savings on turnover of around £150m over the 12-year period.

The joint venture will handle all information and communication technology as well as procurement, HR, payroll and other functions.

The idea is that back end savings will mean more resources devoted to customer-facing operations. In a release, Rotherham Council and BT Ignite said citizens will see "transformed front line service" brought about by using CRM software especially developed for local government. BT partners with CRM giant Siebel to provide such technology.

All staff will remain employed by Rotherham Council, though it was stressed their career opportunities and skills development should be improved within the new set up.

The change over to RBT Connect could take place as early as April.