Re Contract

Capita Group PLC 1 June 2001 01 June 2001 Capita Selected to Drive Croydon's Innovative Customer Focus Project The Capita Group Plc ('Capita') is pleased to announce that it has been appointed as preferred strategic partner to the London Borough of Croydon (' the Council') to lead the development of its ground breaking Customer Focus Project. The 7 year contract, worth approximately £100 million, will involve the transfer of a number of existing services and the transformation of customer facing services and their support infrastructure. The Council is now in negotiation with Capita to finalise the partnership and contractual arrangements. Capita will lead the development, delivery and management of the customer services and associated infrastructure of the Customer Focus Project. The company will play a major part in supporting the implementation of the necessary cultural and systems changes required within the Council. The Project will focus on modernising existing communications channels and radically overhauling the corporate and community access IT infrastructure. Staff will transfer to Capita from the Council and existing suppliers and a substantial number of new jobs are expected to be created in the area as a direct result of the service. Rod Aldridge, Executive Chairman of Capita, commented: 'Capita welcomes the opportunity to work with Croydon Council who share our drive and commitment for innovation, modernising government and providing excellence in customer services. Croydon is leading the way forward in the implementation of e-government to enhance people's experience of the Council and its services. The development of an integrated gateway for the public to access their services will put the Council at the forefront of customer responsive public services, transforming service delivery for the benefit of the community and everyone working for and with the Council. Capita has a proven track record in the development and implementation of large-scale customer service operations in both the public and private sectors and we look forward to utilizing these skills in working with Croydon on this exciting project.' Jan Willis, Director of Finance and IT at Croydon Council, commented: 'The Customer Focus Project is a very important development for the Council, which aims to create better connections with the public, with other organisations and within the Council. The appointment of Capita, with their considerable experience in this area, moves us a large step nearer to fulfilling one of our key aims - improving services and making it easier for local people to access them. 'The Council is committed to a modernisation programme, which will create a model Borough where citizens, their communities and local businesses are informed, involved and connected to the Council. While some councils have piloted elements of the Croydon vision, none have implemented a programme as far-reaching as the Customer Focus Project. The project will act as a beacon for the national programme of modern local government delivered through partnership.' Key elements of the project include: * Creation of an advanced customer contact centre: this will radically improve the customer experience of contacting the Council - providing one stop shop access to all council services including Housing, Environmental Services, Education and Social Services. Access to information and services will be through personal contact, local walk in one-stop-shops, electronic kiosks, telephone, email, post and fax. * Upgrading of IT infrastructure: Capita will assume responsibility for all existing IT infrastructure, including systems integration, desktop, servers and networks. Systems will be radically upgraded to support the 'new world' of integrated information sources and to significantly increase the efficiency of the Council as a whole. * Implementing a new social services system: Inter-Agency working will be greatly improved through development of internet based information services and new working relationships. * Development of a regional business centre: Capita will use this new infrastructure to deliver services to other clients in Greater London. Capita, across its UK Business Centre infrastructure, has successfully demonstrated the benefit of economies of scale, including better access to skills and technology, more cost effective solution for customers and greater opportunities for employees. Such centres also act as a catalyst for inward investment and job creation in the local communities. Future developments to the service will focus on extending access to communities through the use of new and emerging technologies such as Digital TV, web and WAP. -ENDS- For further information: The Capita Group Plc 020 7799 1525 Rod Aldridge, Executive Chairman Paul Pindar, Chief Executive Shona Nichols, Group Marketing Director Press Office 020 7544 3141 Issued by Hogarth Partnership 020 7357 9477 John Olsen/James Longfield Notes to Editors The Capita Group Plc is one of the largest and fastest growing professional support services organisations in the UK. Capita provides an integrated range of professional support services on long-term contracts across the private sector, local and central government and education in the UK. With over 11,000 people working across a network of over 120 sites, generating a turnover in excess of £450 million, Capita's achievements promoted it to the FTSE 100 in 2000. Capita's capability spans leading edge customer and administration services, HR services, IT and strategic support, software and property consultancy. For further information please visit our web site: www.capita.co.uk

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