Bolton Council is tendering for an £80 million IT contract for several public services across the borough.

An advertisement, which appears in the Official Journal of the European Union, says the eight-year contract will include consulting, software development, and internet and support.

The council is the lead authority on the tender, but the contract will be on behalf of Wigan Council, Bolton At Home and NHS Bolton, the primary care trust.

The notice says: “Bolton, acting as lead authority, is seeking a costeffective, value-for-money, innovative service provider to deliver facilities managed information and communication technologies in order to meet the existing and future ICT needs of each of the aforementioned and to achieve service improvements and cost savings.”

A council spokesman said: “We have placed an advert, potentially on behalf of Bolton Council, Wigan Council, Bolton At Home and the PCT for £80m of IT services over eight years. We are committed to delivering the best value for money and anticipate this joint procurement approach will achieve major savings and efficiencies by a number agencies joining forces.”

The council currently has a joint IT arrangement with Bolton At Home, which manages the borough’s council housing stock.