Councils click

Sealing the deal . . . (from left) Councillor Jackie Stanton, Andrew Kendall (Unity Partnership), Councillor Mohammed Masud and ICT expert Darren Wild

Computers deal sees Oldham and Rochdale link up again
ANOTHER link-up between Oldham and Rochdale councils is on the way after a deal was struck to amalgamate their IT services.

An ICT Centre of Excellence would be set up in Oldham under the plans for the authorities to pool their resources.

Councillor Mohammed Masud met with Unity Partnership managing director Andrew Kendall to shake on the deal.

Councillor Masud said: “This is an exciting and innovative proposal which will potentially create new jobs. This move would deliver efficiency savings for taxpayers in both boroughs, for example, producing a service that delivers better value for public money.

“The creation of this Centre of Excellence would also improve future prospects for achieving further cost savings by aligning the computer systems used across both councils.”

Talks are said to be in the early stages at the moment for the scheme that could see the facility launched in March, 2012.

Agilisys, an IT and business provider, will be charged with pulling together the merging plans. The move signals another link between Oldham and Rochdale after several examples of partnership work has had varying success.

J21, the training initiative for the construction industry, and the Housing Market Renewal’s Pathfinder scheme, have already seen the authorities work together.

Contact centre staff have already been moved to Rochdale while rumours that the borough will share Oldham Council’s chief executive Charlie Parker are also circulating.

The mutli-million pound street-lighting scheme has also proved the two can work side-by-side.