Local authorities aim to save £11m per annum over seven years, ahead of five-council merger

Wiltshire County Council has signed a seven-year, £12m contract to improve its frontline support services as five local authorities in the region prepare to merge.

The project, led by IT services supplier Logica, will cover upgrades to finance, payroll and human resources (HR) systems and aims to save £11m a year over the full term of the deal.

Logica was chosen for its experience of operating shared services, said Carlton Brand, dDirector of resources at Wiltshire County Council.

“The creation of a single authority is a major undertaking for us and we needed a long-term partner with experience in creating and operating a shared services model to assure our drive for efficiency and value for money can be achieved," he said.

Logica will set up a shared services centre to support the enlarged unitary authority and will host a centralised system for the new council, containing all financial and HR information.

The councils will start merging to form one local authority for Wiltshire from April 2009.