Peterborough City Council ends Serco contract early to save money

Peterborough City Council, based at Town Hall, said the decision provided "best value"

A council has said it will bring 275 staff in house when it ends its contract early with the public services company Serco.

Peterborough City Council said it would cut ties with the multinational firm in April, seven years early.

The local authority said it wanted to provide "best value for residents".

The transfer of staff were mainly in the areas of business support, customers services, revenue and benefits, a council spokesperson said.

The council previously said it could be in about £2m of debt by the end of the financial year.

"We are very much looking forward to welcoming these staff to the council and we hope that the impact on them will be minimal," said council deputy leader John Howard, from the independent Peterborough First group.

'Smooth transition'

The council has agreed to pay a sum to Serco - which has been contracted at Peterborough since 2011 - upon ending the contract early, although the amount was not disclosed.

"We are satisfied the savings we will make over the next seven years will far outweigh the sum we have agreed," a spokesperson said.

Serco operations director Mark Sandhu said: "We would like to thank our team for all their hard work and will now work closely with the council to ensure a smooth transition of these services."