Hertfordshire awards BSF deal to Balfour Beatty

The 15 year contract won by Balfour Beatty Education includes IT services such as software development, internet and support and installation services of computers and information processing equipment. According to a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 27 January, the construction firm will also undertake facilities management services for computer systems maintenance for Hertfordshire CC. The deal will cover two mainstream secondary schools and a special educational needs school in Stevenage. Two of the schools will be co-located onto a single site and funded through a public private partnership (PPP) route. Work is expected to start at the end of January. Richard Thake, executive member for education and skills, said: "I am delighted to be able to formally announce the awarding of the contract and look forward to work starting on the project as soon as possible. This is an important development which will lead to real improvements for students at all three schools and for the wider Stevenage community." Balfour Beatty was named as the preferred bidder for the scheme in August 2010.