IT giant IBM has signed a deal to create a new £400m joint venture company with Somerset CC and Taunton Deane BC. The company, called Southwest One, is the first of its kind in the South West and the result of more than six months negotiations between the computer firm, contractor Mouchel Parkman, and the two local authorities. The Taunton-based venture will be run by staff seconded from both councils and IBM, and will provide a variety of services, including finance, human resources and customer services. It also includes a framework agreement entitling more than 30 other public sector organisations to acquire services through the partnership. Avon and Somerset Constabulary is also working with the two authorities to become the first police force in the country to join a joint venture arrangement to deliver shared services. ‘Southwest One will combine the breadth of IBM's world-class business transformation and managed service capabilities with the depth of council staff skills and expertise,' said acting Southwest One chief executive, Richard Jones. ‘This, in turn, will enable the team to create an innovative services model which transforms the way civic services are delivered to constituents, as well as address some of the challenges associated with their wider economic agenda.' Somerset CC leader, Jill Shortland, said: ‘This partnership is essential to both organisations in our attempts to inject funding into frontline services in the prevailing climate of huge public and government expectation.' Taunton Deane BC leader, Ross Henley, said his authority was delighted to be part of the partnership. ‘We are both ambitious authorities which constantly seek to improve services and reduce costs, and we are confident that Southwest One will enable us to achieve this ambition,' he said.
