 £120 grants to help with rising costs
Our Household Support Fund is still open for grant applications from any resident.
You can apply through Citizens Advice Wokingham or Age UK Berkshire to access funding to pay for food, energy bills or other costs.
 You could be fined if your waste gets fly-tipped
If you’re having a New Year clean-up or undergoing renovations, make sure you don’t end up with a fine for fly-tipping. You’re legally responsible if you hire an unlicensed contractor who dumps your waste on public or private land.
We’ve dealt with several recent cases including one in a car park in Wokingham (more details in the link), which we had to pay to clean up. We’re trying to trace the culprits and will take action if we’re successful.
Fly tippers can be fined thousands of pounds in court – as can customers if they hire a trader who doesn't have a valid Waste Carrier's Licence, which can easily be checked online. We could instead issue a fixed penalty notice of £300 or £400.
Also, if you leave unwanted goods on the street outside a charity shop, you can be penalised for littering or fly-tipping. Donations should be taken inside, where they won’t cause a blockage and staff can decide whether they want them.
You can report fly-tipping on our website or use our large unwanted items service (conditions apply). Alternatively, find out more about the re3 recycling centres in Reading and Bracknell.
 Make a difference to your community in 2023
Residents searching for ways to help their local communities across Wokingham Borough will be able to see options at volunteer recruitment fair later this month.
Wokingham Volunteer Centre is running the recruitment event at Wokingham Town Centre on Saturday 28 January, from 10am to 1pm.
Dozens of charities and voluntary groups will be there to talk about what they do, all looking for new volunteers.
The event is free and open for people to drop in at any time to have an informal chat and discover how they can help locally.
If you’re not sure it’s for you, hear from some local volunteers on their experiences:
 Take part in the maternal mental health survey
Pregnancy is a major life event for any family. It can be joyful and fulfilling but also challenging.
With one in four women experiencing mental health problems during pregnancy and in the first year following the birth of a child, support from maternity services can significantly impact their mental health and wellbeing.
Healthwatch has launched a national survey to understand if local maternal mental health care works for new mothers and birthing parents. You can share your experience of local maternal mental health care by taking part in their survey, which closes on 31 January.
What you might have missed
Here are all the updates we’ve sent in the last week:
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