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COVID-19 The latest COVID-19 advice from Government is that w e can all help control the virus if we all stay alert. This means you must: stay at home as much as possible work from home if you can limit contact with other people keep your distance if you go out (2 metres apart where possible) wash your hands regularly Do not leave home if you or anyone in your household has symptoms . With warm weather forecast for the weekend and next week, please enjoy the outdoors responsibly. Not all facilities are open. See our COVID-19 web pages here.

Waste and recycling Stafferton Way site As of Monday 25 May, the day on which you can visit Stafferton Way Household Waste and Recycling site may have changed, this is due to the bank holiday waste collections. Please ensure you check the calendar below to see when you can visit and remind yourself of what you can and cannot bring to the site. Only visit if you absolutely have to and only on your set day. Monday: Pinkneys Green, Cox Green, Hurley and the Walthams, Bisham and Cookham Tuesday: Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury, Old Windsor, Bray Wednesday: Ascot and Sunninghill, Sunningdale and Cheapside Thursday: Furze Platt, Belmont Friday: Boyn Hill, Oldfield Saturday: Riverside, St Marys Sunday: Clewer East, Clewer and Dedworth East, Clewer and Dedworth West Eton and Castle Additional traffic management will be in place to manage queues and you can find all the details at the link below. See the website for which day you can go and what can be disposed of. Waste and recycling collection For Bank Holiday waste and recycling collections, see here .

Council Tax support We are aware that many residents have experienced a change in their financial situation as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. If you are liable for Council Tax you may be missing out on additional help if you have either not claimed Council Tax Support or if you have not advised us of your change in circumstances if you are already claiming it. Council Tax Support is a means tested form of assistance which works by lowering the amount of Council Tax you have to pay. If you are a pensioner, you could qualify for up to 100% of your Council Tax to be paid through Council Tax Support. If you are of working age, this could be up to 80%. How much you are entitled to will depend on a number of things including your income and savings, how much Council Tax you are liable for as well as who else lives with you. If you are struggling to pay your Council Tax charge please go on-line to check whether you are entitled to help or perhaps more help. The Royal Borough’s website has a trial calculator on it which you can use to determine whether to apply. If you qualify you should complete the on-line application form. Both of these can be found here. If you need further assistance or advice, you can call the Customer Services Team on 01628 683800 or e-mail [email protected] .

Council Tax Hardship Fund Central Government have announced a Council Tax Hardship Fund, as part of their financial package of support, in response to Covid 19. Each resident, who receives Council Tax Support during 2020/21, will receive a maximum of £150 as a one-off award. If your Council Tax liability is less or you move part way through the year, this could be less. This will not be a cash payment but will be a credit onto your Council Tax account to reduce what you owe. You will not need to apply for this, it will be automatically posted through to your Council Tax account as soon as we are able to do so. We are currently awaiting amendments to our software system to be able to make this award. When this is awarded to you, it will generate an adjusted Council Tax bill, which means that you will then owe less, so you will know when this has happened. If you have any queries regarding this please contact [email protected] . Please also see the government guidance .

Mental Health Awareness week 18-24 May This week is Mental Health Awareness week (18-24 May) and the theme is kindness. In support of this, we’re celebrating the many acts of kindness that are happening across the Royal Borough and we’ve shared some of our favourites on our  Facebook page  and  Twitter account .   If you’ve seen any acts of kindness from keyworkers, council employees or other residents since the start of the pandemic, send them to us at  [email protected]  or share them on our  Facebook  and  Twitter  pages #RBWMTogether.   If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues there is a range of local support available to you - visit the East Berkshire Clinical Commissioning Group  website  or our Royal Borough  website  for more information.   Help us spread a little kindness during Mental Health Awareness week.

Thank you to our foster carers Monday 11 May 2020 marked the start of The Fostering Network’s Foster Carer Fortnight, a time where we recognise the incredible work that foster carers do. In support of our brilliant foster carers, the Royal Borough and Achieving for Children have created a short video montage to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all our Foster Carers.    You can watch the video here and find out more about fostering.

Clarence Road roundabout In support of NHS and other key workers dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, Clarence Road fountain in Windsor is the latest borough landmark to be lit blue every evening. The lighting is sponsored by Royal Borough contractors Serco and Tivoli..

Adhaan We are delighted that we have been able to work with Maidenhead mosque to allow them to broadcast the Adhaan. We appreciate it has been a difficult Ramadan this year and we hope this will have some positive impact for their community. The call to prayer will take place on Sunday 24 May at 1.30pm and will last approximately five minutes but we advise everyone to remain at home.

Look after your back in lockdown As part of the Advantage Card Special offers , Osteopathy practice Body Backup provided a free session on 'Five top tips for looking after your back during lockdown'. See the video here. The next Advantage Card offers will come out in early June. Click here to sign up so you can receive them by email at the start of each month.

Library resources We know lockdown has made life difficult for many of us, but if you can find the time, grab this opportunity to build up your existing skill set and discover new talents via the  The Skills Toolkit . The Skills Toolkit   is made up of free online courses, tools and resources to help you improve your digital and numeracy skills. The Department for Education has consulted some of the country’s leading educational experts and employers to make up a collection of high quality resources to suit a range of interests and skill levels, introductory, intermediate and advanced. Courses range from basic IT to using social media effectively, to programming.

History resources Libraries have a growing list of learning resources online , including encyclopedias, academic research and papers and digital archives. For those interested in geneology, there is free access to Ancestry online through library membership. See the libraries web page for details. Have you listened to the Windsor Guildhall podcast yet? New episodes include a history focused episode on James I. The Windsor & Royal Borough museum team have been keeping busy with a new YouTube Minute Wonder series , learn something new about the Royal Borough's past through an object from the museum's collection online.

Keep in touch Keep up to date with news and information from the council by following us on  Twitter  and  Facebook . Other accounts you may be interested in: Royal Borough official tourism web page.   Libraries on Facebook and Twitter.