Three Worcestershire councils have signed a deal with Civica to manage their customer contact centres, telephone and email services.

The agreement is expected to save Worcestershire County Council, Malvern Hills District Council and Worcester City Council up to £2.6m over 8.5 years.

The partnership will focus on increasing the use of online services through the three councils’ websites and targeting people most in need of face-to-face help.

Helen Frances, strategy and transformation service manager at Worcester City Council, said: ‘People and their demands are changing. The partnership is designed for our specific needs in Worcestershire, and in particular will improve services for benefits and council tax enquiries which are the areas of highest demand.’

The partnership will see 50 council staff transferred from the Worcestershire Hub Shared Service  to Civica.