 New political leadership of the council
Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Clive Jones was elected as the council’s new leader at its annual meeting last night (19 May).
Cllr Jones’s deputy will be Cllr Stephen Conway. The vote follow discussions between Liberal Democrat, Labour and Independent councillors, who have agreed to act together as a group. The group is called the Wokingham Borough Partnership.
There will be a new executive, made up of 10 councillors. Who they are and what they will cover can be found on our news site.
It follows the local elections earlier this month, which left the council in a position of no overall control.
A new borough mayor was also elected at the meeting, it will be Cllr Caroline Smith. The deputy mayor will be Cllr Beth Rowland.
 Providing a welcome to refugees
This is Lisa and Chris, they were part of our Covid response team but are now helping people in the borough in a new way.
They’ve spent the last six weeks welcoming almost 200 Ukrainian refugees into the borough including almost 100 children.
Although you can’t be involved day to day in helping these young people like Lisa and Chris, we know many want to do something to welcome them.
We’re coordinating community fund-raising to help pay for school essentials like laptops and smartphones for these children who have fled war-torn Ukraine. It will also pay for them to join sports clubs, social organisations (scouts or guides) or cultural groups like drama or music.
More than £7,500 has already been pledged but if we don’t reach the £25,000 target, the funding won’t be made available. Donate using the button below.
 Celebrating the mayor's roll of honour
The outgoing Wokingham Borough Mayor Cllr Keith Baker MBE held a special event to thank all those who volunteered during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The event was held at the Oakwood Centre in Woodley and attended by representatives from more than 35 voluntary groups and the borough’s Covid-19 Roll of Honour heroes.
Many of these local people volunteered for a charity, some for the very first time. Others helped a friend or neighbour, or were a positive force in the community and were nominated by the borough’s residents.
You can see pictures from the event on Facebook and Instagram.
Council Tax energy rebates
Letters have been sent to more than 9,000 households who live in homes in Council Tax bands A to D to advise them to apply for the £150 energy rebate. These homes do not pay their Council Tax by direct debit.
More than 26,000 eligible households who pay by direct debit should have received their rebate during the last month.
We’ve now started the process of making payments to the remaining residents who pay in other ways, such as online, by bank transfer or in the post office.
These households will receive a letter from us encouraging them to complete an online application form, including their council tax property reference number and account number (both of which can be found on the latest council tax bill) and bank details along with a supporting bank statement to help verify their identity.
Once details have been verified, payment will be made directly into the approved bank account starting from the end of May.
Only one rebate can be paid per household and properties that are empty, unoccupied or second homes are not eligible. The online form can be accessed on our website energy bill rebate page.
What you might have missed
Here’s every update we’ve issued in the last week, containing information for you a range of topics, including:
As always, you can use our sign up page to register to receive any of the above.
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