Residents taking an active role in designing local care
Residents across Wokingham Borough are increasingly involved in shaping the future of adult social care, according to the council’s annual Social Care Future update. The report sets out how people who draw on care and support are influencing service design, recruitment and accessibility work across the borough.
The update arrives as the national Independent Commission on Adult Social Care launches its Big Conversation on Care, a wide-reaching engagement exercise to collect people’s views and experiences to inform the future of care in England. Locally, Wokingham’s work is presented as an example of what citizen involvement can achieve at borough level.
Where residents have made a difference
The council and partner organisations say residents have taken part in interview panels and recruitment activities, helping to appoint 17 members of staff so far. More than 30 residents have been employed in paid roles on projects with the council and partners, contributing to the redesign of services, spaces and strategies.
Community consultations, surveys and conversations have involved even more people, feeding views into decision-making. A new Inclusive Design Group, launched this year, brings together local people to advise at the planning and design stage and to spot barriers that might prevent people accessing services or community spaces.
- Inclusive Design Group: 12 residents involved so far
- Projects helped: 3 local projects have already benefited from the group’s input
- Transport impact: changes to disabled bus pass arrangements have supported approximately 61,000 additional journeys
Practical consequences for communities
The council’s account emphasises practical outcomes. By involving people with lived experience in recruitment, councils aim to ensure staff understand the realities residents face. Paid roles on projects give residents an active stake in redesigning services, rather than simply responding to consultations on paper.
The Inclusive Design Group’s role is to put accessibility concerns on the table at an early stage so that organisations can make simple, practical improvements before plans are finalised. The council says three projects have already been altered with the group’s input.
| Activity | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Staff appointed with resident input | 17 |
| Residents in paid project roles | 30+ |
| Inclusive Design Group members | 12 |
| Local projects helped | 3 |
| Additional journeys from bus pass changes | ~61,000 |
What this means for Wokingham residents
For residents who rely on adult social care, involvement in service design and recruitment can change how support is delivered in practical ways — from the layout of public spaces to the attitudes and skills of staff providing care. The report suggests the council is moving from consultation towards co-production, where people with lived experience share responsibility for shaping services.
That said, the update is framed as part of a continuing process. The national Big Conversation on Care will collect further input that could influence funding, policy and practice beyond the borough. For now, the figures in the report offer local evidence that resident involvement is producing concrete changes inside Wokingham.
Local community groups and residents wanting to get involved should monitor council announcements and partnership opportunities to take part in project panels, consultations and the Inclusive Design Group.
Residents’ experiences, ideas and feedback are helping ensure local decisions reflect what matters most to people, the council says.
