Walsall and Fujitsu in £650m outsourcing deal

Fujitsu Services and Walsall Council have agreed a £650m outsourcing joint venture that aims to create 750 new jobs and overhaul the town's services.

The 12-year Putting the Citizen First project will see the creation of a regional business centre that will support 24x7 access to council services by email and internet in addition to longer opening hours for call centres and face-to-face channels.

The partnership will cover over 20 council functions and 1,557 staff will transfer to Fujitsu, which is investing £115m in the scheme. Walsall Council said there will be no compulsory redundancies.

The agreement has so far only been approved by Walsall Council's cabinet and it will go before its scrutiny panel for a final decision later this month.

Annie Shepperd, CEO of Walsall Council, said Fujitsu's joint venture proposal had beaten off interest from 30 companies.

"Our citizens will be the real beneficiaries as our aim is to provide the highest quality services by the first three years of the partnership as well as achieve real savings in time, cost and efficiency," she said in a statement.

David Smith, public sector MD at Fujitsu Services, described the deal as "groundbreaking" and said the company is looking forward to "rolling up its sleeves" to help the council fulfil its aim of becoming a beacon council.