Anneliese Dodds, Labour parliamentary spokesperson for Reading East, has demanded better access to Wokingham Borough Council's Shute End offices. Yesterday, she lobbied James Purnell MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on the need for council tax and benefit services to be made accessible to those who need them (see picture).

This follows an apparent lack of action by the Borough to increase access to its Council Tax and Benefits services, despite this being brought to the Borough's attention over seven months ago.

Earlier this year, the Borough's Benefits Service (Housing and Council Tax Benefits) underwent a Comprehensive Performance Review, and was graded as 'fair'. However, in an article in the February 2008 issue of 'Insight Magazine' (the Journal of the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation), a spokesperson for Wokingham Benefits maintained that:

"In Wokingham, we were criticised for our office hours (detrimental to working group customers), poor transport links to our offices and the limited provision of customer parking." The lack of signs to the Civic Offices was also seen as a problem.

Unlike Reading Borough Council, Wokingham does not offer any evening opening (Reading's service is open until 7pm on Thursdays) and the Council Offices are particularly inaccessible for residents living outside Wokingham (including Woodley residents).

Anneliese said: "A number of Woodley residents have raised with me their concerns about the inaccessibility of Wokingham Borough Council's offices. Not only are there few public transport links to Shute End, but in addition, the offices are only open during the working day- which is extremely inconvenient for many people.

I want Wokingham Borough Council to improve the accessibility of its offices, as well as improve those areas where Woodley is often seen as worse off than Wokingham (such as provision for the elderly and for young people).

For too long Woodley has failed to get its fair share and the inaccessibility of the Shute End offices is yet another area where Woodley residents are getting a raw deal".