Issue - meetings

That:

1)        the budget monitoring position for the month ending 31 March 2018 be noted:

2)         the operational update for the period to 31 March 2018 be noted.

(Councillors Norman Jorgensen, Pauline Jorgensn, Charles Margetts, Philip Mirfin and Stuart Munro declared personal interests in this item)

The Executive considered a report which provided the budget monitoring position for the month ending 31 March 2018 and the operational update for the period to 31 March 2018.

The Deputy Executive Member for Finance went through the report and was pleased to report that Wokingham Housing (WHL) had now handed over 125 new homes in the last financial year to its sister housing companies Loddon and Berry Brook Homes which would generate a profit of £1.1m.  In 2018/19 WHL were expected to hand over a further 60 new homes with a profit of just short of £1m. 

Councillor Margetts reminded Members of why Optalis had been established and advised that today over £1m per annum costs had been reduced from the cost of the Council and the business had expanded from approximately £11-40m per annum following the merger with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

In addition Councillor Margetts drew Members’ attention to the operational section of the report which set out the progress with the various sites. 

The Leader of Council highlighted the extra care homes and key worker homes that had been provided by WHL and specifically mentioned the homes that were being provided for care leavers.  Given that the housing companies had only been operating for a relatively short time Councillor Haitham Taylor felt that this was a tremendous achievement.

RESOLVED that:

1)        the budget monitoring position for the month ending 31 March 2018 be noted:

2)         the operational update for the period to 31 March 2018 be noted.