Monday 18th October 2010

Chesterfield Borough Council will today begin what they hope will be a fruitful Public/Private Partnership arrangement which will help them to save up to £4million over the next 10 years, will improve Customer Services and provide a new Customer Service Centre.


L-R: John Wybrant, Partnership Director, Arvato; Mark Steed, Operations Director, Kier; Cllr Ray Russell, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council

The Council's new partners - Arvato and Kier - are two of the UK's leading companies in private/public partnerships. They have worked closely with the Council for over two years to ensure that the new way of working will continue to deliver high standards of customer services and retain jobs in Chesterfield.

The partnership will also bring a significant investment meaning that modernisation of the Revenues Hall into a state of the art Customer Services Centre will be a priority.

The new arrangement will affect around 200 Council staff - mainly from it's administrative services in human resources, ICT, customer services, revenues and benefits, property management and engineering.

The 10-year contract guarantees that there will be no compulsory redundancies for transferring staff as well as ensuring pensions and employment terms and conditions are fully protected.

Cllr Ray Russell, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council said: "This is a major step forward for us that provides a good deal for council tax payers in the Borough. This new way of working will ensure that excellent quality customer service can be provided whilst making efficiencies and continuous investment in Council services.

"It's quite significant for us to go live with this partnership in the same week that local government is expecting to see the funding they received from central government reduced next year.

"Our stance in Chesterfield is to innovatively look at new ways of improving service delivery by both finding efficiencies and protecting and securing jobs.

"This will be a genuine partnership with all three parties working closely together to ensure that our residents receive a seamless service that offers excellent value for money.

"As the partnership progresses there will be significant future improvements to make better use of technology and major investment in our Revenues Hall, making Council services more user friendly, accessible and modern."

Rainer Majcen, Managing Director of Arvato government services, said: "The Arvato partnership will deliver exceptional public services with Chesterfield Borough Council, bringing wide ranging benefits to citizens of the borough.

"At the same time as transforming the quality of services, we will also make considerable cost reductions through increased efficiency, helping the Council to meet the large budget cuts that all local authorities are currently facing.

"We are investing in technology and infrastructure to allow us to meet these goals of increasing quality and efficiency to deliver real benefits to residents and local businesses.

"The agreement with the Council forms part of the growth strategies of both Arvato and Kier, and we will strive to create jobs wherever possible.

"This is a very exciting step for us and a significant milestone in the growth of Arvato government services' award winning work with public sector organisations in the UK."

Mark Steed, Operations Director for Kier, said: "We are extremely pleased to be working in partnership with Arvato to deliver asset management, engineering and facilities management services to Chesterfield Borough Council.

"The partnership is an exciting opportunity for us to build on our existing business and expertise in the local area.

"The long-term nature of the partnership will allow us to invest in developing the service to generate real efficiency savings to the Council and improve the management of public buildings."

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