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Liverpool City Council has hired a ‘critical friend' to investigate whether a joint venture, costing £70m a year, is providing value for money. A leaked report undertaken by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) raised concerns about Liverpool Direct contract, a joint venture between the council and BT, aimed at improving the customer services. The IDeA report, leaked by the Liverpool Daily Post, says the basis of billing for the deal is ‘opaque', while the ‘lack of transparency' raised doubts about whether the council is getting value for money. It also warned it could cost the council £20m to pull out of the contract early. Following the IDeA's report, the council has hired what it is calling a ‘critical friend' to investigate the issue and the review is ongoing. The Audit Commission has said it is monitoring the situation. Since its one-star CPA rating in February, the council has employed a ‘strategic improvement group' to look at how it is performing and whether it is providing value for money. A council spokesperson said: ‘We keep all of our joint ventures under constant review to make sure we are providing the best service for our taxpayers.' Having expanded its original remit, Liverpool Direct now provides the council's ICT services, human resources and revenues and benefits services. Deputy Labour leader Cllr Paul Brant said his party had been calling for an investigation into Liverpool Direct for some time and it was ‘overdue'. In March, Liverpool Direct agreed to double its sponsorship of the City of Culture expenditure from £2m to £4m, helping the council fill a £20m gap in the Capital of Culture budget. The new £2m must be repaid if the council terminates its contract early. l South Tyneside Council signed a £184m contract with BT to run the council's customer services, ICT, human resources, procurement and financial provision. The move will see 450 of the council's staff transferring to BT. The new headquarters, to be based at Harton Staithes, will be built in three years.

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BUSINESS

Liverpool reviews value of BT ICT partnership

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