Northern council fires gun on schools IT deal worth up to £30m

Suppliers sought to supply a management information and financial accounting systems

North Yorkshire Council is on the hunt for IT suppliers to provide a range of equipment for schools and academies, locally and nationally, in a contract which could be worth up to £30m.

The local authority is seeking to award its Provision of a Management Information System and Financial Accounting System for Schools and Academies contract, which is split into three Lots.

The first and third Lots - Management Information System, and Financial Accounting System, respectively - will be available nationally, with the first available to schools and academies and the third just for academies. The second lot is for a Financial Accounting System for local authority schools only, according to a recently published contract notice.

"The Authority wants to be able to offer choice to schools, special schools, pupil referral units, multi-academy trusts and academies and is looking to appoint a minimum of three contractors to each Lot," said the notice. "This framework agreement is intended to be available to all schools throughout England and Wales who are registered on the Edubase website."

The contract will last for six years - an initial four-year period followed by the chance to renew for a further two years. The notice claims this reflects the time needed to "determine what will provide them with the best solution to recoup their investment".