Cumbria County Council will this week vote on whether to extend its multi-million pound contract with strategic partner Capita.
Members of the cabinet have recommended that the contract with Capita be extended for three years, to 2011, with improvements in services and closer links between payments with performance built into the deal.
The full council is due to decide the issue at the its meeting at County Hall in Kendal this Thursday, 17th November.
Capita joined the county council in a strategic partnership in February 2001. The original contract was for seven years with the option to extend for a further three.
The contract is worth around £12 million a year to Capita for a range of business and design services.
The recommendation to build improvements into the deal and extend the contract has come as a result of the "mid-term" review of the relationship between and Capita the council.
Under the proposed new deal, improving public services will become the top priority of the contract. If approved, the deal will also mean that the requirement will remain for Capita to create a total of 1,000 new jobs in the county. Since the start of the Capita contract 200 jobs have been created - under the new deal the company will have until 2009 to bring the remainder or face financial penalties.
Jack Richardson, cabinet spokesman for the strategic partnership, said: "What we are recommending is that council approves an extension of Capita's contract. We have renegotiated the terms of the proposed extension in a way that we believe will build upon the strengths of our existing close relationship with Capita and take the relationship forward by bringing improvements to services and by more explicitly linking payments with performance."