Pendle Borough Council signs 10-year contract with Liberata

Liberata, a government process services specialist, has announced that it is extending its contract with Pendle Borough Council until February 2030 in a deal worth £54 million.

The 10-year-long extension will see Liberata invest nearly £1 million in a self-serve transformation programme for citizens, employees and suppliers. This will deliver around £4.9 million in savings and includes a channel-shift programme which will see 65 per cent of customer transactions move online over the next five years.

The two companies have been working together since 2005 and currently provides a number of core services, including revenue and benefits, strategic HR and pay roll, IT, fraud and error, and property and customer services.

They will be working closely together to ensure that all services are redesigned o exploit the developments in technology, so that enhanced services will be delivered more easily and quickly. It will also reduce the costs of delivering, and therefore ensure sustainability in the services whilst enabling additional resources to handle vulnerable citizens and more complex requests.

Since the beginning of the partnership, Liberata has helped Pendle to reduce its budget deficit, to improve staff engagement and retention and to regenerate the local area. It has created over 150 jobs and has helped Pendle to boost its revenue collection capability. Working with Liberata, the council has managed to achieve its highest ever percentage of business rates in 2015-16, despite economical problems in the area.

Mohammed Iqbal, leader of Pendle Council, said: “Since 2005, Liberata has consistently delivered a high quality of service, which has helped to create many new jobs in the local area. This move will further secure Liberata as a major employer in Pendle, and in particular Nelson, where it employs 300 people in Number One Market Street. That footfall has a big impact on the town’s economy.”

Dean Langton, Strategic Director and Head of Paid Service at Pendle Borough Council, added: “As we embark on our digital transformation journey, Liberata’s expertise in channel shift will prove invaluable. In the face of budgetary challenges, Liberata has always worked with us to identify alternative ways of doing things, allowing us to realise additional cost savings. By continuing our partnership with Liberata, we can build on the improvements made to date and achieve even greater things in the future.”

Charlie Bruin, CEO of Liberata, commented: “We are delighted to be extending our long-standing partnership with Pendle Borough Council. This partnership has demonstrated how outsourcing contracts can be flexible and evolve with the times. We look forward to assisting Pendle digitally transform many of its services, creating benefits for both citizens and council employees.”