By Cllr Stephen Conway
As the leader of the council is seriously ill, and cannot report to you on borough council matters, I’m giving you this update as his deputy.
It’s been quite an eventful 11 months since a Lib Dem minority administration was formed at Wokingham Borough Council.
After 20 years of unbroken Conservative rule, voters wanted something different. We have done our best, in the most challenging circumstances, to provide it.
In November, the Local Government Association’s peer reviewers visited Wokingham. They were impressed by what they saw of the new administration, praising our sense of purpose, openness, willingness to take tough decisions, and strong commitment to working with external partners.
We know from you – the residents that we are here to serve – that the council’s new approach to communications (less self-congratulatory and more informative) has been much appreciated.
One of our big challenges was the council’s finances. We inherited a budget with an in-year deficit, overly ambitious assumptions about income, and a rising demand for services.
Inflation was more than double the rate when the budget was set by our predecessors, and shortly afterwards the disastrous ‘mini-budget’ of the Truss government pushed up interest rates, leaving the council with a bigger servicing charge for its borrowing.
Yet we eliminated the in-year deficit and have set a balanced and sound budget for 2023/24.
We have focused our efforts on trying to help those most in need during the current cost-of-living crisis, playing our part in the battle against climate change, and in tackling long-running problems with school places.
Since May 2022, we have
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provided support during school holidays for children that receive free-school meals during term time
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worked with our Hardship Alliance partners in the charitable and voluntary sector to maximise our ability to help those in need – pooling money, person-power, resources, and data
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brought in a rent rise for council owned homes lower than the government’s cap
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devoted £250,000 to a hardship fund to help residents in financial difficulties
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begun a programme of making our housing stock better insulated
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allocated land at Rook’s Nest Farm for a Covid Memorial Wood (our predecessors had designated this as a site for new housing), which will provide a place for quiet contemplation for the relatives of victims of Covid and increase tree cover to help in the battle against climate change
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secured funding for two new Special Educational Needs Schools
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ensured, through painstaking negotiations with local academies, that a record 96% of new entrants get a place at their preferred schools.
There is more I could report, but this gives you a flavour of our approach, and how it has differed from that of our predecessors.
We have sought to be positive in difficult circumstances and to appeal to the good in people not to their fears and anxieties. We will continue that positive approach if we are are re-elected.
We want a better future for Wokingham, where everyone (regardless of their social status, ethnic background, faith, and sex) can realise their potential and live a happy and fulfilled life.
The choice in the local elections is clear. Back to the past with the Conservatives, or forward to a better future with the Lib Dems.
Cllr Stephen Conway is the deputy leader of Wokingham Borough Council and ward member for Twyford
