 Proposed Council Tax and budget for 2022-23
This past year has been tough for everyone, and the Covid-19 pandemic has affected us all, with the impact being felt far and wide locally.
We’ve ploughed additional money to support the community throughout the pandemic from supplying much needed personal protective equipment to care homes and social care staff as well as continued support to the voluntary and community organisations. We’ve also helped to administer much needed grants and discounts to businesses and residents alike.
The impact of the pandemic is still being felt but we remain in a good place financially despite facing future uncertainty in terms of government funding and proposed adult social care reforms.
Next week (17 February), councillors are set to consider a robust and balanced budget for 2022/23 from a position of relative strength despite us being the lowest funded unitary authority in England.
Part of prioritising the budget must involve us reducing our costs to allow the council to be more efficient in offsetting inflation. In the past six years we’ve reduced costs by almost £30million. Despite these efficiency measures, the authority continues to face a number of ongoing challenges and it has to focus on investing in its priorities, which offer value for money and improve services for residents.
 Key proposed budget facts
- Revenue budget of £145million which pays for everyday services
- No cuts to services
- Continued investment in Children’s Services and Adult Social Care to meet growing demands of the most vulnerable in the borough
- Only received £1.8million additional revenue funding from government, whilst inflation alone costs us some £8million
- Council tax rise of 1.99 per cent, plus a social care precept levy of 1 per cent. Inflation currently running at more than 5 per cent
- No increase in car parking charges to help the borough’s economy recover
- £265million capital programme (over three years) investing in projects to improve roads, leisure and school facilities, tackle congestion and the climate emergency.
- The capital budget is funded by housing developers section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy, government grants and other funding sources, which include the council's own internal funds as well as external borrowing
- A large proportion of council borrowing is deemed as “supported” borrowing which means that these schemes more than pay for themselves, this ensures the cost of borrowing does not fall on residents
For an average Band D property, you'll pay £32.09 a week, £139.05 a month or £1,668.58 a year. This cost covers services which matter to you, including:
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12.3million refuse and recycling collections
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Inspecting and maintaining 450 miles of highways and paths
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Maintaining 143 miles of public rights of way
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Us being the corporate parent to 213 children and care leavers
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Providing long term care to 1,556 vulnerable adults
 Becoming a child friendly community with UNICEF UK
We are partnering with the UK committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) in a bid to be recognised as a UNICEF UK Child Friendly Community.
Joining eight other areas in the UK, the project launched on 1 February and will see us improve the way we work with and for children, to put their rights front and centre. The programme is part of a global UNICEF initiative that reaches almost 30 million children in more than 40 countries.
Achieving recognition as a UNICEF UK Child Friendly Community takes between three and five years to complete, during which time we will work with children and young people and partner organisations to establish the current situation and then develop an improvement plan.
The plan will focus on priorities, known as badges, that are agreed by children and young people, us and the wider community. Examples of the badges include safe and secure, equal and included, healthy, participating and child friendly services.
 Get the help you need to get a job
We’re making the employment support we offer to residents more accessible through a dedicated phone and email line; and by having an outreach team in place that is visible in local communities.
Anyone who needs some help with their career can now contact our employment outreach team by phoning 0118 977 8650, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm. Alternatively you can email them on employmentoutreach@wokingham.gov.uk
The team can direct you to a local service or invite you in for a face-to-face appointment to discuss your situation further and ensure you receive the right advice. They are currently based in the following locations:
- Rainbow Community Centre, Winnersh (RG41 5SG)
- Shinfield Rise Community Flat, Shinfield (RG2 8EH)
- Oakwood Centre, Woodley (RG5 4JZ)
Visit our support finding a job webpage to find out more.
 National Apprentice Week: Emilia's success
Did you know this week is National Apprentice Week? We’d would like to introduce you to Emilia Hill. She is an Apprentice Chartered Building Surveyor in our Housing Services team.
Emilia has recently been shortlisted for the University College of Estate Management’s Apprentice of the Year Award after being nominated by her manager.
As part of National Apprenticeship Week, we spoke to Emilia about how it feels to be shortlisted and why she would recommend an apprenticeship to others. You can read her full story on our LinkedIn page.
What you might have missed
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