A BITTER council dispute about control over a private company that cares for elderly people could soon be resolved.

Wokingham Borough Council and Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have been locked in negotiations about Optalis for months.

The former owns 55 per cent of the company, which it set up in 2011, but 75 per cent of its business now comes from the latter.

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead claim this is unfair and it is not happy with how the overhead costs have been split.

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In a report published in July, the Conservative-run council said there was “a considerable level of distrust” and an “unwillingness to share” basic equipment, including PPE during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At a council meeting on November 26, the leaders of Wokingham Borough Council said they have reached an agreement to settle two parts of the dispute and are working to resolve the third during “positive ongoing negotiations”.

Cllr Charles Margetts, lead member of adult social care, said: “Relationships with Optalis have improved dramatically since the appointment of the new chief executive David Birch.

“We are in a much better place than we were. There are negotiations going on to resolve the third issue, regarding future costs.

“I’m hopeful of a positive outcome and things have been much better with Optalis over the past six months.”

Since becoming a minority owner in 2017, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has transferred all of its adult social care services to Optalis. The contract now accounts for around 40 per cent of its budget.

Wokingham Borough Council planned to do the same but made a u-turn in 2019.

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Around 50 members of Optalis staff were transferred back to the council and it took back responsibility for statutory services, in a bid to save almost £600,000 over three years.

That decision was made after a review found that splitting adult social care services between the council and Optalis was “ineffective” and had resulted in “fragmented leadership”, long waiting lists, numerous delays and “tensions between staff”.

“Customers can get caught up in the middle of disputes about which service is

responsible for dealing with their needs, with no one agency taking responsibility or being held accountable for resolving matters,” the review added.