 Candidates confirmed for May elections
We have published our Statement of Persons Nominated for the 2024 local elections, which means you can now see who is standing to represent your area.
The election is being held on Thursday 2 May, the same day as the election for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the Thames Valley.
To see who is standing in the local elections, scroll to the bottom of our ‘current elections’ webpage and download the list.
You can also find out who is standing in the PCC election online and read candidate manifestos.
If you wish to vote at either of these elections, you must be registered. The deadline to register is 11.59pm on Tuesday 16 April.
Remember also that you must bring suitable ID if you plan to vote in person. If you don’t have ID, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate.
 Getting the word out on waste changes
Our new recycling engagement team have had a busy few weeks, calling at doorsteps across the borough and talking to residents at community events.
They've also been giving assemblies at local schools, and they've been very impressed by the thoughtful questions pupils have asked.
This is all part of our efforts to help everyone recycle more as we prepare to change how we collect household waste this summer.
We recycle 57 per cent of our waste, which is much higher than many councils but we still need to improve as we could be recycling as much as 70 per cent.
As well as reducing carbon emissions, this will save a significant amount of money as it costs less to recycle waste than to dispose of it as rubbish.
It'll also help us meet, and hopefully exceed, the recycling targets that the Government will require all councils to reach in years to come.
 School sale, repair café and volunteer fair coming up
There’s a few local events you may wish to attend in the days ahead, whether you’re getting ready for the new school term, looking to get a broken item fixed or your next volunteering opportunity.
- School uniform sale – First Days Children’s Charity is holding its latest big sale of high quality, pre-loved school uniform today (10am to 6pm, Friday 12 April) and tomorrow (10am to 4pm, Saturday 13 April). It’s at the Elevate Centre, off Denmark Street in Wokingham (RG40 2AZ)
- Wokingham Repair Café – the inaugural Wokingham Repair Café takes place tomorrow (Saturday 13 April) from 10am to 1pm at All Saints Church in Wokingham (RG40 1TN). Bring your broken items along and volunteers will see if they can repair them. Have a coffee while you wait
- Volunteer fair – Wokingham Volunteer Centre will hold its next volunteer recruitment fair on Tuesday (16 April) at Lower Earley Library from 10am to 12 noon. It's a chance to meet charities and organisations looking for local volunteers in Earley and across the borough
 Free programme to help you back to work
If you’re thinking of returning to work after a career break, sign up for our new ‘Confidence for the Future’ programme. It’s free and open to all aged 18 or above.
The programme helps you improve things to help you get a job, such as digital skills, communications, planning and organisation, problem solving and more. It also includes a volunteering assignment where you can gain some practical experience.
You will be supported by a mentor, who will guide you throughout the programme.
Once you've completed the course, you will receive a certificate from us highlighting the skills you’ve gained. Visit our Adult Education website to find out more on the Confidence for the Future programme.
Get an e-billing account to see bills for 2024/25
With the new financial year just starting, you can get instant access to your Council Tax bills each month by signing up for e-billing. If you switch, it helps us to reduce costs on sending out paper bills.
This is a convenient and eco-friendly way to pay. It is also completely secure and allows you to check your account anytime and anywhere.
It is faster to pay your council tax online, by phone, or by direct debit and it is easy to sign up for an account on our website.
Select ‘register/sign into your account’ on the webpage to begin the process. You will need your council tax account number and your email address to register.
What you might have missed
Here’s all our updates from the last week:
We’re sending fewer updates than usual due to local elections in early May. We’ll restart our full set of newsletters after this.
You can sign up for these email updates and many others on our website.
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