To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Andrew Douglass, Josephine Crabb, Sophie Wing-King, Barbara Grossman and Elaine Keating.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest received.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 14^th June 2022.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting held on 14^th June 2022 were approved as a true and accurate record.

To hear from Jesal Dhokia.

Jesal Dhokia, Transformation and Community Lead at RBWM, gave the Group an update on community engagement. They had been leading on asset based community pieces of work, which was stage 3 of the project. This involved the recent world cafes, where the council listened to residents and tried to create solution based opportunities. The funding for these solutions was from the innovation fund, round 2 of this fund had recently closed with around 12 projects being funded. These projects had come out of the world cafes and were where organisations were working with residents on solutions which had come out of these conversations. Information was uploaded to the RBWM Together website. Some examples of projects which had been funded included cooking classes to help with the cost of living, walking groups and coffee mornings integrated with the hub scheme. The next world café would be taking place in Belmont ward on 20^th December, with Sunningdale, Old Windsor and Furze Platt planned for the new year. Talks were being given at the Gurdwara around health issues while budgeting classes were also being offered to residents. The team were continuing with the partnerships that had been created and had recently been nominated for an award due to these partnerships. Jesal Dhokia said that anyone interested was able to join the steering group, which was looking to move to stage 4. Community champions were sent emails, usually once a month, from the communications team which would then be distributed as widely as possible. There were usually four online meetings a year, along with a celebration event. Work was being done in collaboration with Maidenhead United Football Club on wellbeing circles to support hospital discharge. The household fund programme had been launched, this was based around supporting individuals to access £145 from the government, it would be useful for organisations to advertise this to residents.

Councillor Price noted that soon there would have been a world café held in every RBWM ward. She asked if the intention was to do another round of events, once this had been completed.

Jesal Dhokia explained that there had been requests to go back to some wards, which would happen. There was an outcomes report, the aim was to link these outcomes with solutions.

Councillor Price asked about the household support grant, should applications be completed through partner organisations or should it be done directly through RBWM.

Jesal Dhokia said that information on the partners were available on the website, residents could either submit applications through partner organisations or through the council.

Valerie Pike said that the world cafes had been a great experience and was a valuable resource to enable networking between organisations. She asked if there was a confirmed date for the Sunningdale world café.

Jesal Dhokia said that the Sunningdale world café had originally been scheduled for September but had to be cancelled due to the passing of The Queen. Contact had been made with the parish council and the proposal was to find  ...  view the full minutes text for item 251.

Suggestion made by Councillor Price to consider experiences with residents that the One Borough Group interacts with, if any groups are particularly vulnerable or are being neglected, and what more can be done to support them.

Councillor Price noted that there had been a lot of information produced on how to deal with the cost of living, this had mostly been distributed on social media. She was concerned that according to the recent residents survey, 17% of residents did not use the internet and therefore could not be aware of the support available. Councillor Price asked if there were any pockets of the community that were not aware and if so, how the council could engage with them.

The Chairman said that Men’s Matters had been growing but there was still a significant number of older men who were isolated and neglected.

Valerie Pike said that she was aware of an elderly man who was on his own, she said that she would contact Paul Samuels after the meeting to see what support could be provided.

Councillor Rayner highlighted that this was the main positive of the group, that residents could be signposted to the right organisations.

Councillor Price suggested that the good neighbourhood scheme could be promoted to encouraged neighbours to knock on the door of vulnerable people in their communities and make them aware of the support available.

Jesal Dhokia said that the good neighbour initiative had been run throughout the pandemic and could be explored in the context of the cost of living crisis. This could also be linked to the here to help campaign which RBWM was running.

Laura Daly said that the library provided tablet loans and could help to support residents accessing the internet.

Valerie Pike added that one of the core principles of Neighbourhood Watch was looking out for neighbours and ensuring that those who were vulnerable in communities were checked up on, if appropriate.

John Diack said that Neighbourhood Watch in Maidenhead had not been particularly effective. He was an admin on the Maidenhead Community Advice and Safety Warnings Facebook group which had a membership of around 6,000 people, this could help cover the gap left by the alerts scheme which Jeff Pick ran.

Viviana Salmon outlined the community prescribers, who worked closely with GPs and helped to deliver treatment and medication to residents in their homes. This could be a useful source to deliver information directly to residents who were unable to access information through the internet. Viviana Salmon noted that Ukrainian refugees were a section of the community who might not be aware of some schemes, so it could be helpful to share information with organisations who were involved in the Ukrainian refugee scheme.

Jesal Dhokia said that the council worked closely with social prescribers and sat on the wellbeing project circle too. An organisation called Open Arms supported all Ukrainian refugees. It would be useful for the Berkshire Community Foundation to share schemes with their database.

Councillor Price added that Safe Places were also supporting Ukrainian refugees. She drew the Group’s attention to the residents survey which had recently been published by the council. The survey highlighted the groups in the community who had not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 252.

To receive an update on the library service from Laura Daly.

Laura Daly said that the library contained a vast range of online resources, which were available to use with a free library card. Electronic tablets were available to loan, which could be used to improve things like job skills and completing online applications. The library service was working with Job Centre Plus to host in person job fairs, which took place in Maidenhead and Windsor libraries. The fairs gave applicants the opportunity to network and discuss potential applications with employers. Using the library for the fair allowed employers to reach local people and ensured that it was held in an accessible environment. There were two members of staff available at Maidenhead Library that could help with job searches, job applications and updating CVs. The library also ran a number of weekly sessions, for example rhyme time and a repair workshop. The library service looked to attend as many external events as possible, for example the world cafes, Housing Solutions and health and wellbeing fairs. All staff were trained in signposting residents to the appropriate schemes and could also help with council tax, applying for universal credit and accessing the household support fund. All libraries were safe, warm places and all residents were welcome to use the services provided during opening hours.

Valerie Pike noted that a lot of the activities from the library service were focused on Maidenhead and Windsor, she asked if Ascot library was part of the activity offer.

Laura Daly said that there was the possibility of holding job fairs elsewhere across the borough, it was a new initiative which had only been running for a few months.

Councillor Rayner highlighted the important work and service that the libraries provided for the community. Jesal Dhokia was doing work on connecting communities with the world cafes.

To receive updates from members of the group.

Jane Corry said that Norden Farm was holding its carnival of the animals lantern parade, which would be held outside the Town Hall. There would be various activities including live music and dancing. Free storytelling was taking place at the Nicholsons Shopping Centre on a Saturday morning.

Belinda Dixon said that the dementia service were offering drop in sessions for residents to provide support and answers any questions. The sessions took place on the first Thursday of the month, at 10.30am, at Boyne Grove library. There was hope to extend to the Windsor area in the new year.

Peter Haley highlighted that People to Places had mobility scooters and wheelchairs which were available for extended hire. The shopmobility offices would be open every day apart from the bank holidays, while the Maidenhead office would also be open on Sundays in the run up to Christmas.

Emily Warburton spoke about the support line which No22 offered for young people which was available to those from 11 to 25 years old. There was a capacity for 10 appointments a week, which would be a half hour session with a counsellor.

Nicola Miller, from the Dash Charity, said that white ribbon day had recently taken place and there was a period of time where the charity was hughlting how action could be taken against domestic abuse. The charity had partnered with the RBWM communications team to help raise social media awareness. There had also been a cost of living awareness campaign, particularly highlighting a cost of leaving crisis as victims were unable to leave their relationships due to the financial situation. Normally there was an increase in calls for help after Christmas, the Dash Charity were not anticipating the increase this year due to the cost of living.

David Bonney said that Windsor Cycle Hub had been in existence for around 18 months and met every Saturday morning to offer free bike repairs at the Swan pub in Clewer. Guided rides also took place, they had proved popular ways to meet new people. The hub would not be open on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve.

Viviana Salmon said that the Berkshire Community Foundation could support organisations by offering various grants, with the next round of funding being in January.

John Diack said that the TVP alerts from Jeff Pick had been missed by the local community. He was meeting with the new local neighbourhood police inspector later in the week to discuss this issue.

Valerie Pike added that the alerts had been useful for residents and had created good awareness, particularly amongst the elderly, as they were often the ones targeted. Dan Bennet was currently working to try and create an automated system so that alerts could be sent out. Some police priorities did not match with the priorities of the public, Valerie Pike had raised this with the superintendent.

Tim Hiorns, from Windsor Fellowship Church, noted that there were a number of ‘warm spaces’ in West Windsor, but other than the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 254.

Dates of future meetings are as follows (all 11am):

·       Tuesday 14^th March 2023

·       Tuesday 13^th June 2023

·       Tuesday 12^th September 2023

·       Tuesday 5^th December 2023

To discuss a venue for the proposed world café style meeting in March 2023.

The Chairman said that the next meeting in March would be an in person dialogue, considering how the council and local community groups could work better together. The Group was looking for a suitable venue which could host the meeting.

Councillor Price suggested that Kerith Community Church in Windsor could be a suitable venue.

Jane Corry also said that the Group could be hosted at Norden Farm.

Steve Sansom suggested Maidenhead Baptist Church or Maidenhead Synagogue as other potential options.