ROCHDALE COUNCIL ANNOUNCES £200M PARTNERSHIP WITH AGILISYS AND MOUCHEL PARKMAN
07 March 2006
Partnership aimed at improving council services including building a new customer contact centre
Partnership will also add at least 1,300 new jobs
A new partnership between Rochdale Council and two private companies, Mouchel Parkman and Agilisys, will bring at least 1,300 new jobs to the Borough over 15 years.
The deal, which has taken more than two years to arrange, will also bring major investment in improvements to Council services, including a new Customer Contact Centre.
Bringing in jobs and new business will also help regenerate the Borough. One of the first major developments will be a new office building on the old Yelloways coach station site near the River Roch in Rochdale town centre.
Hundreds of Council staff will be seconded to work for a new company called the Impact Partnership, jointly owned by the Council, Mouchel Parkman, a professional support services group, and Agilisys, a technology and business process service provider.
Council employees are already working with staff from the two companies on preparing for the full partnership arrangements, which will start on 1 April.
The partnership deal was approved unanimously by councillors (on Weds 22 Feb 06). Leaders of all three political groups welcomed the deal.
"This partnership will bring massive benefits to the Borough," said a joint statement from Councillors Allen Brett (Labour), Alan Taylor (Liberal Democrat) and Ian Duckworth (Conservative).
"Council funding of £200 million will be invested in the partnership over 15 years but the value to the Borough will be much greater than that.
"The partnership agreement guarantees that our private sector partners will bring at least 1,300 new jobs to the Borough.
"Co-operation with other partners - including schools, Hopwood Hall College and JobCentre Plus - will help us ensure that local people have the right skills for the new jobs. We aim for at least three out of every four of the new jobs to go to local people.
"Council services will also be improved, with highways & engineering, property management, information technology and payroll all being run through the partnership.
"There will be more investment in a customer contact centre to improve the service to people telephoning the Council, plus more investment in new technology and in new systems to improve services than the Council could have provided on its own.
"All this will be done without any extra cost to those who pay the Council Tax."
Richard Cuthbert, chief executive for Mouchel Parkman, said: "It is great news that we have been able to complete our negotiations on time, enabling us to commence work as planned on April 3. Everyone at Mouchel Parkman is really excited about beginning the partnership with Rochdale and working with the Council to help make Rochdale a better place to live and work."
Charles Mindenhall, Chief Executive Officer of Agilisys, said: "We are delighted to now be putting plans into action and bringing to bear our extensive experience with successful partnerships in the public sector, such as our strategic partnership with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, our ICT partnership with Cumbria County Council, and the provision of services for the DTI's Consumer Direct North West.
"The Impact Partnership will help to transform and regenerate the area, not only by improving the way in which services are delivered to citizens, but also by bringing a significant number of new jobs to the area with our own contact centre business.
"Agilisys Contact Services (ACS) will be providing services to our existing private sector clients from our new premises in Rochdale."
Further information:
Rochdale Council media enquiries:
Councillor Allen Brett,
Leader of the Council and Leader of the Labour Group.
Mobile: 07939 210003.
Councillor Alan Taylor,
Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group.
Mobile: 07800 672273.
Councillor Ian Duckworth,
Leader of the Conservative Group.
Mobile: 07800 672277.
Martin Hellewell, Media Manager,
Rochdale Council.
Tel (01706) 924821.
Mouchel Parkman media enquiries:
Catherine Cookson (Tamesis).
Tel 020 7908 3224.
Mob: 07799 713941
Email: cathc@tamesis-pr.com
Agilisys Ltd media enquiries:
Christine Grady.
Tel 020 8237 6111.
Email: christine.grady@agilisys.co.uk
Editors' Notes:
Mouchel Parkman
Mouchel Parkman is a professional support services group, which helps clients in the public sector and regulated industry to provide better everyday services to customers and communities. Its combination of professional, commercial and technical expertise enables clients to improve their strategy, services, people and asset management. Operations include highways, rail, property, housing, education, gas, and water and management consultancy in a wide range of disciplines. www.mouchelparkman.com
About Agilisys
Agilisys is a leading technology and business process services provider for the UK public and private sectors, dedicated to helping clients transform their customer services through innovation, flexibility and partnership. Agilisys designs, builds and operates technology-enabled business solutions and has earned a strong reputation across many sectors, particularly within local government, travel and tourism, and retail financial services. Agilisys has more than 1,000 employees in the UK, Ireland and India. www.agilisys.co.uk