Leeds Council to spend £650,000 on 1,000 new laptops in ‘one-off order’ to replace out-of-date equipment
The council will spend almost £650,000 on new laptop computers to ensure compatibility with a software update.
A contract will be awarded to Telefonica UK for the supply of around 1,000 of the devices.
A Leeds City Council report said some existing laptops were not equipped for the next upgrade of Microsoft Windows.
The investment would save cash by avoiding the extra cost of supporting out-of-date equipment.
The report said: “Provision of effective kit is critical for colleagues because it impacts productivity and the level of service we provide to customers.
“These will then be compatible with Microsoft Windows 11, which in turn will avoid us paying unnecessary support costs for having old hardware on the estate.”
The laptops will be obtained via the public sector procurement body Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO).
The contract with Telefonica is worth £646,490 and will run for 12 months from September 30.
The report said: “This purchase is a one-off order to meet our laptop refresh requirements for this year.
“We are currently working on a longer-term arrangement for our ongoing requirements.”