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Surrey council plans to SAVE money by switching to BT

PSN deal could save cough £5m plus

Surrey county council has said that its Public Services Network (PSN) contract with BT will save more than £5m on its current networking arrangements.

According to the council, the seven-year contract will replace up to 40 separate networks in Surrey and Berkshire with a single PSN.

It expects savings of up to 20 per cent on its current arrangements if Surrey's borough and district councils and Berkshire's councils, fire and rescue service, health services and a university join in.

When the network – which will be known as Unicorn – is established, Surrey intends that it will be expanded to include libraries and schools. Emergency services and voluntary groups will also have the option of joining.

In terms of the costs, a spokesman for Surrey council said that if all agencies in Surrey and Berkshire join the network, the cost has been estimated at £120m.

Denise Le Gal, Surrey's cabinet member for change and efficiency, said: "Our aim is to provide the highest quality services at the very best value for money and developing a cloud platform as part of a single public services network is the latest example of our willingness to embrace new ideas.

"We firmly believe public services should be seen as a single team co-operating to make taxpayers' money go further wherever possible and this deal with BT will save the county council alone up to £5.25m."

Surrey has also signed a £33m deal with BT to provide broadband connectivity to businesses and homes across the county.

Peter Martin, the deputy leader of Surrey council, said the deal could boost the county's economy by about £28m a year.

This article was originally published at Government Computing.

Government Computing covers the latest news and analysis of public sector technology. For updates on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here.

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