Birmingham City Council has ‘dissolved’ a joint venture partnership that was designed to deliver ICT services across the council.

Service Birmingham, a joint venture between the council and Capita, is to come to an end in order to help Birmingham meet its ‘cost savings objectives’.

Created in 2006, the commercial arrangement will now be ‘reshaped’ — in the words of a Service Birmingham spokesperson — ‘to allow greater flexibility to better cater for the future needs of the council and its residents.’

‘The proposal, although keeping the core services contract in place until 2021, allows for the joint venture arrangement, which has some commercial restrictions, to be dissolved,’ the spokesperson said.

‘The new partnership will deliver a mix of core services currently provided under Service Birmingham as well as additional project-based work enabling additional savings to be delivered over the next four years, helping the council to meet its objectives.’

Discussions on the proposal are ongoing, and a report is expected to go to Birmingham City Council's Cabinet for approval in due course.