Help us create a Wokingham Borough where everyone belongs

A borough where everybody feels at home and communities are celebrated and supported is a step closer with Wokingham Borough Council encouraging people to get involved with helping shape a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy. 

People can share their experiences of living or working in the borough by completing a short survey on the Council’s Engage Wokingham platform, or by requesting a hard copy of the survey from the Council’s customer services team. 

The council has already begun talking with key partners and community organisations to gather feedback and will be using this, along with survey responses, to work together and establish a series of local objectives and priorities aimed at improving access to services and support across the borough for all. 

Ambitious and representative 

Cllr Rachel Bishop-Firth, executive member for resident services, inclusion and fighting poverty, said: “As a council it’s important that we lead the way which is why we want our new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy to be ambitious and truly representative of our local communities. As a borough we’ve continued to become increasingly diverse and it’s important that we reflect this with the services and support we offer and the decisions we make. 

“We want to make sure everyone has a voice and it’s important that people can have their say in helping shape this strategy. We need to understand the barriers people are facing accessing support in their communities, as well as their ideas on how things can be improved. 

“By co-developing this EDI strategy alongside those who understand the reality of what our diverse communities are facing day to day, we can work together to come up with the right priorities and solutions to help make the borough a place where everyone feels they belong.” 

How to get involved 

Residents and organisations can complete the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey online on the Engage Wokingham platform. You can also request a hard copy by calling the Councils on 0118 974 6000 or by using the Contact us form on our website. 

Survey responses need to be completed by Sunday 19 January 2025. 

If you are an organisation which represents one of the boroughs diverse communities and would like to get more directly involved in helping co-develop the strategy in the new year, or in supporting the other work the council does, please contact the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team at inclusion.team@wokingham.gov.uk.

Next steps 

Once key themes and priorities have been established a draft EDI Strategy will be prepared ready for formal consultation in spring next year. Feedback from this second consultation will help prepare a final version of the strategy which is expected to be adopted at Council next summer alongside the new Council Plan. 

Once adopted, the new EDI strategy will run for four years from 2025 to 2029. 

Alongside the strategy, there will also be an annual EDI delivery plan which sets out key objectives for the year ahead, allowing progress against the plan to be regularly monitored and reviewed. 

In addition to aligning with the newly adopted Community Vision, the EDI strategy will also align with the emerging Council Plan, and will reflect the council’s commitment to becoming a marmot borough where health inequalities are actively addressed, and a Social Care Future borough where the lived experience of residents is to help focus on what is important to people and we work together to make positive change.  

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