Liberata to deliver further efficiency savings through a major channel shift programme
Liberata, today announced that its contract with Pendle Borough Council has been extended until February 2030, in a deal worth £54m. The ten year-long extension will see Liberata invest almost £1m in a self-serve transformation programme for citizens, employees and suppliers. This will deliver approximately £4.9 million in efficiency savings and includes a committed channel-shift programme, which will see 65% of customer transactions moved online over the next five years.
Liberata has been working in partnership with Pendle since 2005 and currently provides a range of core services including: Revenue and Benefits, Strategic HR and Payroll, IT, Fraud and Error, Property Services and Customer Services. Liberata will be working closely with the Council on this major digital transformation programme, to ensure that all services are redesigned to exploit the developments in technology. This will deliver enhanced services to both citizens and employees with greater accessibility (available outside normal council hours), easier service requests (improved automation of forms, reduced keying) and speedier resolution. It will also reduce the cost to deliver, therefore ensuring sustainability in the services whilst enabling additional resources to be assigned to enhance the handling of vulnerable citizens and more complex requests.
Since the start of the partnership, Liberata has helped Pendle to reduce its budget deficit, improve staff engagement and retention and regenerate the local area, creating over 150 jobs. The collaboration has also helped Pendle to boost its revenue collection capability. In partnership with Liberata, the council managed to achieve its highest ever percentage of business rates (99.1%) in 2015-16, despite the difficult economy in the area. The team at Pendle are now also involved in servicing a number of other strategic partners across Liberata.
Councillor 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.”
