Issue - meetings

Council Owned Companies

Meeting: 28/01/2016 - Executive (Item 89)

89 Council Owned Companies pdf icon PDF 470 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

That:

1)        the budget monitoring position for the month ending 30 November 2015 be noted;

 

2)        the operational update for the period to 31 December 2015 be noted.

 

 

Minutes:

(Councillors Pauline Jorgensen and Anthony Pollock declared personal interests in this item)

The Executive considered a report relating to an update on the operational position of the companies for the period to 31 December 2015, the budget monitoring position for the month ending 30 November 2015 and the Wokingham Housing Limited Business Plan for 2015.

 

The Leader of Council highlighted a number of areas from the report including that Optalis had been successful in acquiring new business.  With regard to WHL Councillor Baker informed Members that the developers were now on site at Phoenix Avenue and that the tendering process for Fosters was reaching completion.

 

Councillor Haitham Taylor congratulated Anju Bhatti for winning the Social Worker of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.  Councillor Haitham Taylor also highlighted that the turnover rate of Optalis was at an all-time low at 18% and queried what was being done to reduce this figure further and if Optalis had a retention policy?  Councillor McGhee-Sumner responded that Optalis work very hard at retaining staff and the new Managing Director was intending to meet with staff regularly to understand their issues.  It was also noted that Optalis was one of the best payers in the locality. 

 

Councillor Pollock, in his role as non-Executive director of Optalis, went through the process that had been followed to aid recruitment and stated that the turnover rates last year were close to 40% so to get down to 18% and recruit 105 people was a very good achievement. 

 

Councillor Jorgensen highlighted the complements that the Council was receiving from other local authorities; including the fact that Optalis had been approached with a view to running an extra care service in Oxfordshire and was also providing consultancy to other councils.  She felt it was great credit to Optalis that other councils were buying their expertise which had the added benefit of helping assist with the cost for Wokingham residents.  The Leader asked that Councillor Pollock convey the Executive’s congratulations to the Managing Director and her team.

 

RESOLVED that:

1)        the budget monitoring position for the month ending 30 November 2015 be noted;

 

2)        the operational update for the period to 31 December 2015 be noted.