To receive Mayor’s Announcements.

Former Councillor Margaret Cook

Margaret, who was known locally as Meg Singh and was a Labour Councillor in Katesgrove Ward from 1972 until 1995, sadly passed away recently.  Meg was Chair of the Housing Committee from 1986 to 1988 and went on to chair the Association of District Councils for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

The Mayor to sign the Minutes of the proceedings of the previous Council Meeting.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2025 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

Questions in accordance with Standing Order 10.

(The full text of the questions and replies was made available on the Reading Borough Council website).

Report by Director of Finance

The Director of Finance submitted a report fulfilling the requirement on him under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 as the Council’s Chief Finance Officer to report on the robustness of the estimates made for the purposes of the calculations of the budget and the adequacy of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Report by Director of Finance

Further to Minutes 46 and 61 of the Policy Committee meetings held on 18 December 2024 and 17 February 2025 respectively, the Director of Finance submitted a report on the Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the three years 2025/26 – 2027/28.  The report provided an update on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Report by Director of Finance

Further to Minute 62 of the Policy Committee held on 17 February 2025, the Director of Finance submitted a report setting out the draft Capital Strategy 2025/26, which was attached to the report at Appendix 1.

The report noted that the CIPFA 2021 Prudential and Treasury Management Code required  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

Report by Director of Finance

Further to Minute 63 of the Policy Committee held on 17 February 2025, the Director of Finance submitted a report setting out a Treasury Management Strategy for endorsement.  The Strategy required approval before the start of the new financial year in accordance with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

Report by Director of Finance

The Director of Finance submitted a report seeking approval of the calculations for determining the Council Tax requirement for the year 2025/26, in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The report also sought approval to set the Council Tax amounts for each property valuation band in the Borough  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Report by Director of Finance/ KPMG, External Auditors

Further to Minute 24 of Audit & Governance Committee on 21 January 2025, the Director of Finance submitted a covering report on behalf of the Council’s External Auditor, KPMG, which had attached their Annual Report, providing a summary of the findings and key issues arising from the 2023/24 audit.  The report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Report by Assistant Director of Legal & Democratic Services

The Executive Director of Resources submitted a report on the Annual Governance Statement 2023/24.  The Council was responsible for ensuring that financial management was adequate and effective and had a sound system of internal control, which facilitated the effective exercise of the Council’s functions and included arrangements for the management  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Report by Director of Finance

The Director of Finance submitted a report on the Statement of Accounts for 2023/24.  The report explained that the approval of the annual Statement of Accounts was a matter reserved to Council.  The Council’s external auditor, KPMG, was expected to issue a ‘disclaimed’ audit opinion by the statutory backstop date  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.