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 engaged, including those over the age of 75, those with a disability and those that rented from the council.

Emily Warburton said that she represented No. 22 which was a youth counselling service. They interacted with around 1,600 people a year who could often be slightly disengaged with the rest of society. Emails were sent out to confirm appointments, having a leaflet to attach to the email with information on other schemes could reach quite a lot of people. Hard copies could also be provided.

Councillor Price said that ‘here to help’ RBWM leaflets would be a good place to start.

Jane Corry said that Norden Farm had a volunteer programme that allowed individuals to get involved with events along with a number of other social events. Talking Tables was a film viewing session that allowed those attending to discuss the film which they were watching. During spring, the number of daytime classes would increase due to demand, including drama, arts and craft.